Activity 2: What are serious conflicts and war about? Using critical thinking to understand the causes of international conflict and war

Activity 2: What are serious conflicts and war about? Using critical thinking to understand the causes of international conflict and war

Materials needed:

  • Large blank posters to write on
  • Coloured pens
  • Post-its
  • Tablets and internet access

Duration:

Between 1 ½ hours and 2 ½ hours

Activity description in steps:

Step 1: Agree on definitions: Brainstorm

For example: War is the use of violence and force in a conflict in an armed conflict.
Serious crisis is an intense conflict between two states, which can lead to armed action.

Step 2: The students discuss in groups what they consider to be causes of serious conflict and war.

Step 3: Each cause is written on a post-it or a piece of paper, each group explain their choices in plenum and place the post-its on a large piece of paper or the wall

Step 4: Discuss in plenum how to group the causes in categories. If possible with the whole class standing right in front of the board. Alternatively, you may prefare as a teacher to create a poster with categories.

Step 5: The post-its are placed under the relevant categories.

Methodological suggestions to the teacher

Examples of causes could for example be:
Persons or groups’ ambitions of power, economic gain, nationalism, defence, inequality (political, social, economic), poverty, high unemployment, oppression…

Examples of categories of causes could be:

  • Land or territory disputes
  • Politics and ideology
  • Access to resources. (water, oil, metals etc.)
  • The politicizing of ethnic/cultural/ religious identities

Step 6: Each group selects a serious conflict or war. They may include a war/conflict they have studied before.

Step 7: The groups propose causes for the chosen conflict/war and explain it in plenary.

They watch a film from You tube or read/write short descriptions
(like https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/using-human-suffering-as-a-political-tool/ )

Examples of films:

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