War, Justice and Peacebuilding from a sociolegal perspective

EHU Module "Main Issues in Contemporary Sociology of Law"

Wars have exponentially grown in the last decade. According to the Global Peace Index 2025, “The world has become less peaceful over the past 17 years” recovering information from 59 active state-based conflicts, “the most since the end of WWII and three more than the prior year. Last year, 17 countries recorded over 1,000 conflict deaths. Additionally, the successful resolution of conflicts is lower than at any point in the last 50 years. Conflicts that ended in a decisive victory fell from 49 per cent in the 1970s to nine per cent in the 2010s, while conflicts that ended through peace agreements fell from 23 per cent to four per cent over the same period”[1] .

The multilateral paradigm of global peace-making failed to stem the conflagrations in recent years and has proved ineffective in preventing significant harm and the increasing number of victims in various places. The level of investment in military activity has increased progressively and will continue to exceed historical limits. As human knowledge advances for the benefit of war, sociolegal studies must increasingly focus on proposing alternatives, understanding war, and creating better opportunities for peace and justice. The striking emergence of harmful war methods, the multiplication and internationalization of armed conflicts, and the lack of effectiveness of transitional justice mechanisms in place are progressively pressing for a catastrophic world scenario. 

This course aims at both critically looking at the notions of war, its impacts, actors, and causes, and to evaluate possible alternatives and debates regarding justice and peace-making, including a context of conservative claims, massive political resistance, radical violence from States and criminal organizations, and economic pressure. The study of alternatives will focus on two main fields: war and justice and peacebuilding.

This course examines war, justice, and peacebuilding through a sociolegal lens, focusing on how social institutions and actors operate before, during, and after violent conflict, and on the role of the law in such contexts.

Drawing on interdisciplinary approaches from sociology of law, criminology, transitional justice, and human rights, the course explores the limits and possibilities of legal institutions in contexts of mass violence, democratic backsliding, authoritarianism, and social transformation. We will also understand the challenges and opportunities of justice and peacebuilding, as well as the many constraints, backlashes, and contradictions these initiatives often entail.

In my own trajectory, I have participated in various peacebuilding strategies and have experienced being in a maze. A complex network of regulations, all types of actors and interests, intricate political passageways, and many dead ends with no single way out. My aim is to provide a grounded view of these issues. We will experience the maze together, thinking about possible responses and new crucial problems.

Students will engage with case studies from Latin America, Europe, Africa, and other transitional justice contexts, and will elaborate on contemporary debates over truth, justice, and reparations.