Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 16 Hours. (16 x 1 hour) |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 8 Hours. (8 x 1 hour) |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 1,000 word country briefing | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word essays | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word essays | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module, normally during the supplementary examination period. For further clarification please contact the Teaching Programme Administrator in the Department of International Politics. Students failing the module will repeat only the failed component(s); those re-sitting failed coursework are required to select a different essay/assignment title and must not submit re-written versio |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to.
1) Identify the key legacies of colonialism in Africa, and assess their contemporary relevance for the African state
2) explain the development and prevalence of neo-patrimonialism, clientelism & authoritarianism
on the continent
3) critically assess the extent to which recent transitions to democracy have transformed state-society
relations
4) identify, describe and account for instances of conflict, state collapse and warlordism on the continent
5) describe some of the ways in which global forces impact on domestic state-society relations
6) apply the general concepts and theories of African politics to specific empirical examples
7) utilize appropriate research methods to generate relevant information for specific case studies
Brief description
Many of our images of Africa are of famine, corruption, civil war and ethnic hatred. While there is no denying the prevalence of deprivation and violence on the continent, these images often obscure more than they reveal about contemporary African politics. Africa is also a place of dynamic change and of economic, political and cultural transformations. This module provides students with the theoretical and conceptual tools for analysing recent developments in sub-Saharan Africa, and covers some of the main debates and issues in the study of politics on the continent.
Aims
The module also investigates the response of African societies to state politics, including the wave of democratisation on the continent in the 1990s. Special attention is focused on the transition to democracy in South Africa, and the search for reconciliation and transformation in the post-apartheid period. The new politics of development are assessed critically, including poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs), the Millennium Development Goals, participatory development programmes, transboundary environmental governance, peace parks, NEPAD and the AU.
Content
2. Colonialism and its Legacies
3. African Nationalism, Class and Gender
4. The Postcolonial State
5. Corruption and neo-Patrimonialism
6. The Politics of Ethnicity
7. The Political Economy of War
8. The Failed State Thesis
9. Africa in the New World Order
10. Poverty and Structural Adjustment
11. The Third Wave of Democracy
12. Reconciliation and Transformation in the Rainbow Nation
13. NEPAD and the African Renaissance
14. Partnerships and the Politics of PRSPs
15. Peace Parks and Trans-boundary Conservation
16. Conclusion
Reading List
Recommended TextA Thomson (2000) An Introduction to African Politics Routledge Primo search N Chazan, Lewis et al (1999) Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa Lynne Rienner Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6