Practical Field Research in Conflict Areas visit to Northern Ireland & Ireland
Offered primarily through the MA programme in International Relations and Regional Studies (IRRS), this year's edition of the course Practical Field Research in Conflict Areas is taking place in Ireland and Northern Ireland from 25 May – 1 June 2019.
Within the context of the political uncertainties created by Brexit, the field trip facilitates valuable student interaction with prominent scholars and practitioners focused on the Northern Ireland peace-process in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry and Dublin. The field trip's programme features a diverse and detailed set of academic, civil society and political events.
Speaking on the importance of this field trip, Professor Eiki Berg has emphasized that "Brexit has created many political uncertainties for the island of Ireland. It is twenty-one years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Brexit has abruptly put the peace-process created by that agreement under increased stress. Belfast, Derry/Londonderry and Dublin offer pertinent vantage-points for the undertaking of practical field research into conflict resolution and transformation".
The field trip is being led by Professor Eiki Berg and PhD fellow Eoin Micheál McNamara. The delegation of 10 MA students from the University of Tartu's Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies are attending a detailed series of lectures presented by leading academics on the dynamics of war and peace in Northern Ireland at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at the Queen's University of Belfast (QUB).
The group is visiting conflict interfaces in Belfast as well as the Bogside and Waterside areas of Derry/Londonderry, also the International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE) at the University of Ulster (UU) Magee Campus in Derry/Londonderry and the Dublin City University (DCU) Brexit Institute.
Meetings will be held at the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly at Stormont and the Houses of the Oireachtas in Dublin.
Debate and discussion is also taking place with leaders from important civil society peacebuilding initiatives including: Rev. Bill Shaw OBE from the 174 Trust/Duncairn Community Centre; Mr. Joe O'Donnell from the Belfast Interface Project; Fr. Gary Donegan and Mr. Brian McKee from the Houben Centre; and Mr. Alan Waite from R-CITY: Communities Integrated Through Youth.
The Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies wishes to extend special thanks to Dr. Timofey Agarin, the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics (HAPP) at the Queen's University of Belfast (QUB) and the Irish Embassy in Estonia/Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for the generous support that they have provided for the Practical Field Research in Conflict Areas field trip in 2019.
More information: Eiki Berg, Professor of International Relations, eiki.berg [ät] ut.ee
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