When war or crisis comes, how can we respond? This course equips students of diplomacy and peace and conflict studies with the understanding and practical negotiation skills needed to address unfolding and protracted conflicts and tensions. To this end, the course explores the causes of conflict (and peace) and the various mechanisms employed by the international community in response. It also provides students with an opportunity to study the theory and practice of the essential diplomatic art of negotiation. In the words of leading negotiation scholar, William Zartman, “Diplomacy is mostly negotiation, and negotiation is the business of foreign policy and international relations.”
This course introduces and examines international frameworks for negotiation and conflict resolution. It surveys the causes, character and future of conflict and explores the approaches and skills needed for interstate and intrastate conflict prevention and resolution. Broad and topical concepts of diplomacy such as 'preventive diplomacy', 'coercive diplomacy' and 'peacebuilding diplomacy' are used to inform our understanding of different phases and types of conflict management.
As part of this course students undertake an intensive negotiation workshop. This flagship element provides students with first-hand exposure to the challenges of managing conflict through diplomatic negotiation. You will acquire and refine new negotiation and mediation skills through a variety of learning methods, including demonstration, practice and simulation. The negotiation workshop aims to develop the ability of students to think politically and strategically, to examine key elements in the planning and conduct of negotiation and mediation, to identify essential qualities and skills for effective negotiation and mediation, and to consolidate this knowledge through simulating real-world diplomatic negotiations.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Analyse and evaluate the nature, causes and future of contemporary conflicts and crises, including in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Recognise, apply and respond to different strategies of diplomatic negotiation.
- Explain and examine multilateral treaties such as the United Nations Charter for negotiation and conflict resolution and their application to conflicts.
- Understand the contextual reality of what peace and conflict can mean from various perspectives, and the role of political, cultural, legal and historical inheritances to the development of those perspectives.
- Design strategies for evaluating and responding to different forms of interstate and intrastate conflict.
Indicative Assessment
- Seminar participation (10) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Conflict brief (1500 words) (30) [LO 1,3,5]
- Negotiation reflection (500 words) (10) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Research essay (2500 words plus visualisation) (50) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Students undertaking this course could expect a workload of 10 hours per week. This is inclusive of actual contact hours for lectures and also out of class preparation time.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
None prescribed.
Preliminary Reading
Berridge, Geoff. 2015. Diplomacy: Theory and Practice. Fifth edition. Houndmills, Basingstoke; New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Carter, Sala. and Greg Fry, 2023. Australia's Indigenous Diplomacy and its Regional Resonance in Oceania. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 77(6): 656-663.
Constantinou, Costas M., Pauline Kerr, and Paul Sharp, eds. 2016. The SAGE Handbook of Diplomacy. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. 2011. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In. 3rd ed., rev. Ed. New York: Penguin.
Marinaccio, Jess. 2024, Oceanic Diplomacy and Foreign-Policy Making in Tuvalu: A Values-Based Approach, Third World Quarterly, 45(3): 548-566.
Pruitt, Dean, and Sung Hee Kim (2004). Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate and Settlement (New York: McGraw-Hill, 3rd edition).
Wallensteen, Peter. 2023. Understanding Conflict Resolution. 6th ed., London: SAGE.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8834 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | In Person | N/A |
| 8839 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | Online | N/A |