Conflict and Forced Migration, Humanitarian Aid and Development Practice

The world is experiencing an unprecedented surge in conflicts, leading to the displacement of thousands of people both within their own countries (IDPs) and across international borders (refugees). These displaced individuals often lack essential resources such as shelter, water, clothing, medical care, and food. To address these urgent needs, international, bilateral, and civil society organizations, along with local actors, frequently engage in fundraising efforts.

This elective course explores the core challenges of three but interrelated concepts of conflicts and forced migration, humanitarianism and development. The course uses real world case studies and research across the globe to explore how conflicts influence discourses and global debates on humanitarianism and development. The course offers students an understanding of the complex and varied nature of conflicts and forced migration, humanitarian aid and development practice, of their centrality to global, regional and national processes of political, social and economic change, and of the needs and aspirations of forcibly displaced people themselves.

Based on an interdisciplinary approach, the course delves into the rich scholarship within social and political science, legal and development studies, anthropology and medical science, introducing students to develop a critical understanding of conflicts and forced migration, humanitarianism and development. Through the course, students will develop tools and approaches needed to respond to conflicts and forced migration, humanitarian response challenge and examine discourses on development practices. Students will also be equipped with analytical training and an in-depth understanding of the challenges of conflicts and forced migration, challenges of contemporary humanitarian aid and its interaction with development practice and new direction in the field. Central to the course will be a focus on wide-ranging knowledge of the field and the tools to critically engage with the pressing questions of power dynamics, politics, accountability, intersectionality, security and access.

The course will present students with comprehensive engagement with theoretical, conceptual and policy debates relating to the challenges of global conflicts, humanitarian response and development.  Students will gain knowledge on: Conflicts and Development: Foundations, Concepts and Debates; Conflicts, Migration and Development: Analytical, and Policy perspectives; Issues in Forced Migration: Refugee law and Human Rights; Humanitarianism: Ideas, Actors and Debates; Humanitarianism: Issues and Challenges; International Actors and Civil society linkages in Humanitarianism practice; Discourses in Humanitarian practice: From localization to the Triple Nexus; and context-specific challenges and agendas from the Global south.

The course will link theory to practice through engagement with guest speakers, story sharing by forced migrants from Uganda and DRC, and a wide range of materials including literature, case studies, archival documents, and policy reports.

The course shall place emphasis on student-centered and engaged learning, and critical thinking through discussion forums and debates. Modules span a wide variety of topics allowing students to focus on special areas of interest and utilise innovative and cutting-edge pedagogies such as podcasts, visual presentations, and learning diaries.