Master in Conflict and Democracy

The Master's programme in Conflict and Democracy at European University Viadrina combines political and legal sciences with applied conflict research, running over 4 semesters. The programme is built on the premise that conflicts within and between democratic and authoritarian entities shape contemporary society, and it equips students to analyse, understand, and manage political and societal conflicts across local, national, European, and international levels. An introductory module provides foundations in political science, law, and applied conflict studies. Three specialisation modules follow: Politics of International Conflict and Democracy, covering causes of war and peace, international organisations, narratives, identity, and security policy; Politics of Domestic Conflict and Democracy, examining political and social conflict within democratic and authoritarian systems, populism, and social structure; and Legal Regulation of Conflict, addressing rule of law, European legal traditions, transitional justice, climate justice, collective labour law, and international humanitarian law. A practice module covers conflict analysis, communication, negotiation, mediation, dialogue design, and dilemma management. Students also select two elective modules from political science, law, interdisciplinary fields, or a language and practice module. The programme concludes with a master's thesis and oral examination. The programme is offered at European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.