A hybrid conference jointly organized by the Center for International Studies (CERI) at SciencesPo, and the European Initiative for Security Studies (EISS)
The Origins of War and Diplomacy: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Room: Salons scientifiques, Sciences Po, 1 Place St Thomas d'Aquin, 75007 Paris
Human groups have waged war and engaged in peaceful diplomatic practices since at least the time of Ancient Mesopotamia. Ever since, the coexistence of these two seemingly contradictory practices has been a defining feature of human societies.
What are the origins of this Janus-faced duality of war and peaceful diplomatic practices that has cut across human communities throughout world history? Do war and diplomacy have deep roots in the human lineage, reaching back to prehistory, when humans lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers? Or did they emerge as a more recent cultural innovation when human groups transitioned from nomadic hunter-gathering to sedentary, densely populated, and hierarchical societies, subsequently giving rise to state societies?
To address these questions, this conference brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines to examine evidence from palaeoanthropology, archaeology, linguistics, primatology, and political science, thereby shedding new light on the origins of war and diplomacy in our species.
9h15-9h30
Coffee
9.30–9.45
Introductory Remarks
Hugo Meijer, Sciences Po-CERI / EISS
9.45–11.00
Panel 1: Cooperation & Conflict in the Natural World
Chair: Christian Lequesne, Sciences Po-CERI
Carsten De Dreu, Leiden University: Intergroup conflict in humans and other species
Liran Samuni, German Primate Center, Göttingen: Cooperation and Conflict in
Chimpanzees and Bonobos
11.00–12.15
Panel 2: The Peace/Violence Paradox: The Evolution of Language & Self-Domestication
Chair: Chiara Ruffa, Sciences Po-CERI
Richard Wrangham, Harvard University: The peace/violence paradox in the human speciesspecies: implications for international relationships
Katie Slocombe, University of York: Chimpanzee communication in conflict and
cooperation: Implications for the evolution of language
12.15–13.15: Lunch
13.15–14.30
Panel 3: The Origins of War & Diplomacy: Insights from Archaeology
Chair: Hugo Meijer, Sciences Po-CERI
Christopher Knüsel, University of Bordeaux: Unwritten Testimony from the Past: Uncovering Evidence of Prehistoric Violence and Warfare
Linda Fibiger, University of Edinburgh: Bioarchaeological approaches to gendered violence in prehistoric Europe
14.30–15.45
Panel 4: The Origins of War & Diplomacy: Insights from Ethnography
Chair: Chiara Ruffa, Sciences Po-CERI
William Buckner, University College London: Clothing and deception in forager warfare
Hugo Meijer, Sciences Po-CERI / EISS: Foreign policy before the State : Diplomatic
practices in prehistory
15.45–16.00
Concluding Remarks
Hugo Meijer, Sciences Po-CERI / EISS