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.
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:
- Link to Human Rights Watch website.
- Link to Amnesty International website.
- Link to list of military conflicts on Wikipedia.
- Link to website for UN Peacekeeping Operations.
- Link to World Atlas Website: The Most Dangerous Borders in the World (2019) .
- Link to Crisis Group's website: 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2020
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
- Who are involved in the conflict?
- In which area of the world is this conflict occurring and how long has it been going on?
- Are the involved parties countries or independent organisations/groups?
- Explain what the conflict is about (natural resources, borders, religion, minorities, ideology, politics). Remember, there is almost always more than one cause.
- Are any of the involved parties democratic?
- Do major powers, such as China, the USA, or Russia, have interests in the area?
- Is the conflict hot (armed conflict) or cold?
- Is terrorism being used as a weapon in the conflict?
- Has the UN or other international organisations been involved in mediating the conflict?
- How are civilians affected by the conflict?
- What are some of the concessions that would reduce the conflict? (border regulations, cultural rights, democratic rights, rights to protest)
- 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