Assignment 1: Treaty of Versailles & Treaty of Westphalia — Relevance to Peace Studies, Role in Peacemaking, and Why They Failed/Succeeded

44 topics across 6 chapters

Chapter 1

Peace Studies foundations needed for treaty analysis

Core concepts of peace (negative vs positive)

2 subtopics

Negative peace: ending direct violence (ceasefire/absence of war) as an evaluation baseline

Positive peace: institutions, justice, and conditions that prevent relapse into conflict

Conflict analysis basics (what a treaty must address)

2 subtopics

Conflict components: issues, actors, and drivers (security, identity, power, resources)

Stakeholder & interest mapping: winners/losers, spoilers, and incentives

Peacemaking and peace agreements (how deals are made)

2 subtopics

Negotiation and mediation basics: bargaining, coercion, guarantees, and third-party roles

Agreement design checklist: terms, sequencing, monitoring, enforcement, and dispute resolution

Justice, reconciliation, and legitimacy in peace settlements

2 subtopics

Justice options: retributive vs restorative approaches and their peace impacts

Legitimacy and consent: inclusion, fairness perceptions, and compliance

Chapter 2

Historical context for Westphalia: Europe and the Thirty Years’ War

Thirty Years’ War overview: causes, major actors, and conflict dynamics

17th-century diplomacy basics: balance of power and multi-party settlement logic

Chapter 3

Treaty of Westphalia (1648): content, relevance, and peace-making role

Westphalia’s key provisions: territorial, political, and religious settlement elements

Sovereignty and non-intervention: what Westphalia is claimed to establish (and what it doesn’t)

Role in peacemaking: how Westphalia ended war and stabilized relations (mechanisms and limits)

Critiques and debates: the “Westphalian system” narrative and alternative interpretations

Peace Studies success/failure criteria for treaties: durability, legitimacy, inclusion, enforcement, and justice

Chapter 4

Historical context for Versailles: World War I and the Paris Peace Conference

World War I overview: war aims, escalation, and the strategic situation at the end

Paris Peace Conference (1919): key actors, bargaining, and constraints

Postwar conditions: economic disruption, domestic politics, and social grievances shaping the treaty

Chapter 5

Treaty of Versailles (1919): content, relevance, peacemaking role, and failure factors

Versailles key terms: reparations, territorial changes, military restrictions, and political clauses

League of Nations & collective security: institutional design and practical weaknesses

Role in peacemaking: how Versailles attempted to prevent renewed war (and how it backfired)

Why Versailles failed (Peace Studies framing): main factors and causal pathways

4 subtopics

Punitive settlement and legitimacy crisis: perceived humiliation, blame, and grievance politics

Economic instability link: reparations disputes, debt, and vulnerability to shocks

Enforcement and guarantees gap: inconsistent implementation, credibility problems, and U.S. non-ratification effects

Revisionism and security dilemma: rearmament incentives, alliance shifts, and escalation dynamics

Historiography of Versailles: major scholarly interpretations and what evidence they use

↗ Peace Studies success/failure criteria for treaties: durability, legitimacy, inclusion, enforcement, and justice (see Chapter 3)

Chapter 6

Comparative evaluation (Westphalia vs Versailles) and how to write the assignment

Analytical lenses: realism, liberal institutionalism, and constructivism applied to treaty outcomes

↗ Peace Studies success/failure criteria for treaties: durability, legitimacy, inclusion, enforcement, and justice (see Chapter 3)

Lessons for modern peacemaking: settlement design, implementation, and preventing conflict relapse

Write-up plan: structuring your paper and meeting Peace Studies expectations

3 subtopics

Thesis + outline: building a comparative argument (not just description)

Evidence plan: primary vs secondary sources, and how to use them to support claims

Citations and academic integrity: Chicago/APA basics and avoiding plagiarism