INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, CONFLICTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Academic Research and Study Trips

Trip example: German video Israel and Palestine, 2015

The Israeli-Arab conflict, the genocide in Srebrenica, the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, security, human rights, and refugee movements in the western Mediterranean. These are things that Master's students at the Department of Social Sciences and Public Affairs learn about, both inside and outside the lecture hall. In the module “International Law and Politics in Practice”, students are given an opportunity to participate in annual academic research and study trips organized by Prof. Dr. Khan, Dr. Riznik (both International and European Law) as well as Prof. Dr. Stetter and Dr. Busse (both International Politics and Conflict Research). These trips allow students to experience and learn about context of particular importance in political and legal practice. In accordance with the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach of our study program, the trip focuses on the historical, social, cultural and economic conditions of specific conflict and post-conflict situations. 

Participants are able to examine the specific conflict dynamics in the field, speak to decision makers, and meet contemporary witnesses. They acquire empirical knowledge through discussions with representatives of national governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and local media as well as by visiting important sites of conflicts and memorials. The trips regularly include discussions with local delegations of the European Union and German embassy officials, especially defense attachés.

Study trips in recent years have included a patrol with the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia and an in-depth look at border installations of the Spanish enclave Melilla with the Spanish Guardia Civil. Students are thus able to learn about the political causes of transnational and international conflicts and the respective rules within the international legal framework.