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Tasks: Working with International Conflicts

Below you will find a set of tasks that highlight international and global conflicts. Use the suggested web-sites and others you may know of to help you answer the questions in writing. Choose one conflict as your area of focus.
Explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia. Burning cars and debris in the street, with a few civilians leaving the area. Photo.
Explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia. Bilde: Feisal Omar / CC BY-NC 4.0

As you work with various internet sources you need to assess their credibility. Here are some useful questions that may help you do this:

  • What is the agenda of the web site?
  • Who owns the web-site?
  • Is the information up to date?
  • Are the sources used in articles listed or not?
  • Does the site offer a broad variety of views on an issue?

Resources:

Present:

Choose an on-going conflict and make a presentation, basing your content on the questions below. You will also find a vocabulary list that you may find useful.

Questions

  1. Who are involved in the conflict?
  2. In which area of the world is this conflict occurring and how long has it been going on?
  3. Are the involved parties countries or independent organisations/groups?
  4. Explain what the conflict is about (natural resources, borders, religion, minorities, ideology, politics). Remember, there is almost always more than one cause.
  5. Are any of the involved parties democratic?
  6. Do major powers, such as China, the USA, or Russia, have interests in the area?
  7. Is the conflict hot (armed conflict) or cold?
  8. Is terrorism being used as a weapon in the conflict?
  9. Has the UN or other international organisations been involved in mediating the conflict?
  10. How are civilians affected by the conflict?
  11. What are some of the concessions that would reduce the conflict? (border regulations, cultural rights, democratic rights, rights to protest)
  12. What is your view on the conflict?

You may find some of these words useful for your presentation

  • Interstate conflict

  • Civil war / Intrastate conflict

  • Ethnic conflict

  • Ethnic group

  • Conflict of interest

  • Conflict of values

  • Militia

  • Non-state actors

  • International security policy

  • Terrorism

  • Conventional weapons

  • Weapons of mass destruction

  • Disarmament / Nuclear disarmament

  • Casualty of war

  • Internally displaced people

  • Refugees

  • Humanitarian aid

  • Humanitarian crisis

  • Genocide

  • Persecution

  • NATO

  • UN

  • UNHCR (UN refugee program)

  • UN General Assembly

  • UN Peacekeeping

  • Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs)

  • Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

  • Resolution

  • Diplomacy