Conflict: Introduction
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to identify the major forms of conflict as well as underlying patterns that contribute.
- Students will create an infographic that analyzes the impact of conflict on civilians and proposes different ways to address those impacts.
Materials
Homework Due
- Students will complete Parts 1 and 2 of the guided reading handout.
Class One
- (5 Minutes) Debrief Homework
- (20 Minutes) Reading: Complete Part 3 of the guided reading handout.
- (20 Minutes) Identifying Forms of Conflict Activity:
- Have students read about ongoing conflicts using news sources you have suggested. CFR’s Global Conflict Tracker is a great resource.
- If using a physical newspaper, spread preselected articles out on the walls or tables of the classroom. If using a website, print it, project it, or share it in a collaborative space.
- Have students use Post-it notes, the commenting function in Google Docs, or a similar tool to label each example of an intrastate OR interstate conflict, indicating what form(s) of conflict are involved.
- Discuss with students: Do patterns emerge? Which forms of conflict seem most prevalent? Do you see evidence for the claim in the reading that violent conflict is uncommon?
- NOTE: This exercise can be repeated several times over the course of the year to examine trends over time. It could also be adapted to use historical as well as present-day news sources to look at how the nature of conflict has changed over time.
Homework
- Students will complete Parts 4 and 5 of the guided reading handout.
Class Two
- (10 Minutes) Debrief Homework: Reflect on Parts 4 and 5 of the guided reading handout, noting the distinction between direct and indirect casualties as well as the wide variety of effects that conflict has on civilians. Ask students to consider the role that humanitarian corridors, cease-fires, and humanitarian pauses play in conflict. What have been some of the challenges faced in trying to enforce such humanitarian interventions?
- (35 Minutes) Infographic on the Civilian Face of Conflict Activity: Building off the homework, students will choose an ongoing or recent conflict and note down details of the civilian consequences of the conflict. For ideas on applicable current conflicts, students can use Global Conflict Tracker | Council on Foreign Relations.
- Students should take notes for each of the following elements that will appear on their infographic:
- Example: Students will identify a specific example of conflict, locate where it occurs, and provide a brief description of the conflict.
- Effects: Students will identify the types of effects this conflict has on civilians: direct casualties, indirect casualties, long-lasting effects (trauma, poverty, lack of education).
- Policy: Students will then argue for a policy that will help limit (or end) the impact on civilians such as: humanitarian corridors, cease-fires, humanitarian pauses.
- Students will create an infographic illustrating the civilian consequences of their chosen conflict and proposing a policy to limit (or end) those consequences.
- Students can use physical materials or graphic software such as Google Drawings, Google Slides, Google Docs, Canva, Piktochart, Mural,or Venngage.
- Remind students to use the ideas mentioned in Parts 4 and 5 of the guided reading handout as they think about how to visually represent examples that highlight the civilian consequences of their chosen conflict. (NOTE: In preparation for this activity, you may find it helpful to review some sample infographics as a class and discuss what makes them effective.
- Students should take notes for each of the following elements that will appear on their infographic:
Homework
- Have students complete their infographics. Students will share their infographics during the next class.
Vocabulary
- alliance
an official partnership between two or more parties based on cooperation in pursuit of a common goal, generally involving security or defense.
- asylum
a protective status granted by national governments to individuals, called refugees or asylum seekers, who have been internationally displaced, cannot return home, and seek resettlement abroad.
- communist
governments or individuals that follow the philosophy of communism or their interpretation of it.
- cyberattacks
intentional and malicious encroachment by an outside actor on computer networks, websites, or other cyber infrastructure.
- drone
an unmanned, remotely piloted vehicle generally used for reconnaissance and combat. Also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
- gross domestic product
a measure of a country’s economic output determined by the value of goods and services it produces in a given year.
- intellectual property
original works created by an author, technological inventions, business marks and designs, and other “creations of the mind” that are protected by copyright, patent, and trademark laws.
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
a military alliance among thirty-two countries on both sides of the Atlantic. Article 5 of the treaty that created NATO establishes its core principle of collective defense,” which commits member countries to defend each other if attacked.
- nuclear enrichment
a process, generally using centrifuges, by which uranium is processed into enriched uranium suitable for nuclear reactions. Low-enriched uranium can be used for nuclear power; highly enriched uranium is needed for nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) attempts to monitor this process as part of its efforts to ensure that nuclear technology is limited to peaceful uses.
- refugee
defined by the UN Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, as someone who has fled conflict or persecution in their home country, has a reasonable fear that returning would be unsafe, and is protected by international law. In many countries, the term refugee also refers to someone who has sought and received asylum in a new country.
- sanction
a tool of statecraft, frequently involving economic measures such as asset freezes and trade restrictions, used to exact a certain behavior or outcome from another party.