Risks and Threats to International Peace

Risks and Threats to International Peacecourse is a module of the REACT program, a five-week training course focused on peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

This intensive five-day course (40 hours) provides advanced training on current and emerging threats to international peace and security, addressing in an integrated manner the links between armed conflicts, transnational organized crime, terrorism, radicalization, disinformation, and cyber threats.

Throughout the course, participants will examine how illicit economies, the proliferation of weapons, weak rule of law, and the erosion of the international legal order contribute to the prolongation of armed conflicts and the emergence of increasingly complex forms of violence, such as hybrid wars and protracted conflicts.

The module explores cases in which illicit activities (such as drug cultivation, mining, or illegal logging) sustain the livelihoods of vulnerable communities in the absence of viable economic alternatives, while simultaneously fueling violence, organized crime, and violent extremism.

It also examines contemporary phenomena such as disinformation, misinformation, and cyberattacks, understood as strategic tools in modern conflicts and as direct challenges to governance, institutional stability, and international peace.

The module combines an analytical and practical approach to understand the cause-and-effect relationships between organized crime, terrorism, radicalization, and armed conflicts. It also includes an analysis of international legal frameworks, comparing definitions and approaches to organized crime, terrorism, and transnational offenses, identifying similarities, differences, and cause-and-effect relationships, with an applied focus on prevention and international response.

Module Contents

The module covers the concepts, dynamics, and responses to modern threats to peace, including:

• Human security

• Transnational organized crime

• Conflict economies and their relationship with violence

• Armed conflicts and protracted crises

• Terrorism and armed groups designated as terrorists

• Radicalization and violent extremism

• Disinformation and Misinformation

• Cyberattacks and cyber threats

• Hybrid warfare

• International legal order

Methodology

The methodology combines expert lectures, structured debates, case study analysis, role-playing exercises, and scenario simulations, promoting hands-on, participatory learning applied to real-world contexts.

This approach develops analytical and operational skills applicable in professional contexts related to security, international cooperation, and peacebuilding.

Format

• Intensive training: 1 week
• Modality: On-site
• Language: English
• Certification: Official Diploma from the International University Center for Peace Missions (IUCPM)

The course is delivered in small groups, allowing for personalized attention and encouraging the active participation of each attendee.

The programme features an international faculty with extensive experience as national and international security policy consultants, specialists in dialogue processes with armed actors, government advisors, and more. It also brings together a diverse cohort of participants from different nationalities and sectors, promoting experience exchange and the development of global professional networks.

Target Audience

This course is designed for professionals and individuals in training who wish to specialize in security, conflict prevention, and complex threat management. It is particularly relevant for staff from international organizations, NGOs, and public administrations working in conflict prevention, organized crime, and transnational risk management; armed forces, security and intelligence personnel involved in security operations, counter-terrorism, or cybersecurity; lecturers and researchers in security and international policy; students of international relations, political science, sociology, and peace studies seeking to focus on complex threats and armed conflicts; and professionals aiming to develop strategic competencies to lead conflict prevention and crisis management initiatives at national and international levels.

OBJECTIVE AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Understand the different concepts and definitions of organized crime, terrorism and extremism, and the definition under different legal frameworks.
2. Get acquainted with the major financing mechanism of organized crime and its relations with existing conflicts.
3. Understand the legal implications of humanitarian, development and peacebuilding workers engaging with terrorist groups under different jurisdictions.
4. Explore the challenges of the international community’s response to maintain peace and security and fight organized crime and terrorism.

PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

• Columbia University
• Centre for Defense Management and Leadership
• Global Affairs Canada
• UN

Learn more about Module IV here.