Universities And Conflict

This book uses a series of case studies to examine the roles played by universities during situations of conflict, peacebuilding and resistance. While a body of work dealing with the role of education in conflict does exist, this is almost entirely concerned with compulsory education and schooling. This book, in contrast, highlights and promotes the importance of higher education, and universities in particular, to situations of conflict, peacebuilding and resistance. Using case studies from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, this volume considers institutional responses, academic responses and student responses, illustrating these in chapters written by those who have had direct experience of these issues. Looking at a university’s tripartite functions (of research, teaching and service) in relation to the different phases or stages of conflict (pre conflict, violence, post conflict and peacebuilding), it draws together some of the key contributions a university might make to situations of instability, resistance and recovery. The book is organised in five sections that deal with conceptual issues, institutional responses, academic-led or discipline-specific responses, teaching or curriculum-led responses and student involvement. Aimed at those working in universities or concerned with conflict recovery and peacebuilding it highlights ways in which universities can be a valuable, if currently neglected, resource. This book will be of much interest to students of peace studies, conflict resolution, education studies and IR in general.

Values in Conflict is a clarion call to policy-makers, business leaders, and the public at large to rethink the current direction of the contemporary university. Paul Axelrod demonstrates that liberal education, the core of higher learning, is threatened by the constricting pressures of the marketplace and shows how political and economic pressures are redefining higher learning. Axelrod demonstrates how, in the race for riches symbolised by endless rhetoric about the need for Canada to become globally competitive, technologically advanced, and proficient at churning out "knowledge workers" our schools and universities are being forced by government policy to narrow their educational vistas. The decision-making autonomy that universities must have to provide cultural, intellectual, community-service, and training functions is being eroded. Values in Conflict explains why this is happening and why it matters.

The Conflict over the Conflict offers a unique view of the threat to free speech, academic freedom, and the future of the academy posed by those on both sides of the Israel/Palestine campus debate.

Dana Burde shows how aid to education in Afghanistan bolstered conflict both deliberately in the 1980s through violence-infused, anti-Soviet curricula and inadvertently in the 2000s through misguided stabilization programs

Cultural Impact on Conflict Management in Higher Education shares information regarding conflict management and resolution in higher education from a global perspective. In this book, we introduced many conflict resolution methods from different regions in the world. You can borrow some successful strategies and examine the differences and similarities between contexts. The book shares a conflict resolution model which may direct the reader to start thinking about addressing and managing conflicts from different levels of organizations. This book is a collective work of authors coming from all over the world. We chose higher education as the context because it is a place where diverse thoughts, perspectives, and people come together. Because of the potential richness of diversity on a college campus, the opportunity for conflicts occurs. Managing conflict does not work when there is a “one-way only approach/model” for addressing conflict. Some conflict resolution encompasses multiple dimensions: (a) one’s personal beliefs or beliefs about an issue; (b) an individual’s personal history in terms of how the conflict was perceived as something to be discussed or not; (c) work culture of the conflict where if ‘one has a conflict,’ the person or unit is messing up or there is a problem person; (d) the unconscious strategies of ‘face saving’ (trying to maintain one’s image) present; (e) social hierarchies or relationships; and (f) the diversity dimensions and issues that may be present.

Conflicts between faculty and administration have become particularly virulent and disruptive in recent years, as institutions have struggled to adapt to intensifying pressures for efficiency and accountability. Analyzing common sources of conflict and challenges on campus that impede attempts to address these conflicts, Bridging the Divide between Faculty and Administration provides a theory-driven and research-based approach for authentic discourse between faculty and administration. This important resource presents a wealth of strategies for improving communication in colleges and universities, ultimately enhancing organizational effectiveness and institutional performance. Special Features: End-of-chapter "Implications for Practice" provide practical tips and advice for faculty and administrators to use in their own contexts. Analysis of actual conflicts based on extensive interviews with administrators and faculty across a variety of college and university settings. Exploration of creative ways for faculty and administrators to work across differences in their belief systems and to address the underlying sources of conflict.