At independence African leaders shared one crucial problem; the need to establish political authority over their territories and to forge bonds of solidarity between state and society, rulers and ruled. These territories frequently embodied ethnically, linguistically and culturally separate peoples, and in this sense most African countries were states before they were nations. The module examines the difficulties of establishing political legitimacy and constructing nation-states under such conditions, as well as the various results of the state's quest for hegemony, most notably neo-patrimonialism, clientelism, and authoritarianism.

The module also explores society's response to the politics of exclusion and in particular the recent wave of democratisation on the continent. We assess contemporary explanations of the prevalence of conflict, state collapse, and the rise of warlordism, and examine the way in which international/global forces influence domestic politics and state-society relations, including the imposition of structural adjustment programmes, the end of the cold war, and 'war on terrorism'. Finall, the module assesses the promise of NEPAD for Africa's future.

Students will have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of transferable skills which will help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas. Throughout the course, students should practice and enhance their reading, comprehension and thinking skills, as well as basic numeracy skills and self management skills. In lectures students will develop listening and note taking skills, as well as analytical skills. In seminars students will enhance their analytical skills and will practice listening, explaining and debating skills, as well as team work and problem solving. Essay writing will encourage students to practice their independent research, writing and IT skills, and the examination will test these skills under time constraint conditions.

10 ECTS credits