Overview. Even though conflict has always been a part of history, peace and conflict studies aim to reduce conflict in the future by studying ways to avoid it. This is done by studying causes of violent conflict, then explaining to others how conflict begins and how to manage or avoid it.
The Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) PhD is a four-year program consisting of coursework, a candidacy examination and successful defense of a doctoral thesis.
Interdisciplinary academic field
Strategic studies is an interdisciplinary academic field centered on the study of conflict and peace strategies, often devoting special attention to the relationship between military history, international politics, geostrategy, international diplomacy, international economics, and military power.
In the scope of the studies are also subjects such as the role of intelligence, diplomacy, and international cooperation for security and defense.
The subject is normally taught at the post-graduate academic or professional, usually strategic-political and strategic-military levels.
Academic field
Veterans studies is an academic field that examines the diverse experiences of military veterans and their families in society.
As a multidisciplinary field committed to advancing understanding of all aspects of the “veteran in society, inquiry draws on the intersections of the theoretical and the applied, the creative and the performative, the normative and the empirical.
Topics within veterans studies could include but are not limited to combat exposure, reintegration challenges, and the complex systems and institutions that shape the veteran experience. Veterans studies, by its very nature, may analyze experiences closely tied to military studies, but the emphasis of veterans studies is the “veteran experience,” that is, what happens after the service member departs the Armed Forces.
