Schedule

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January

	Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
			1	2	3	4	5
	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
	27	28	29	30	31	1	2

February

	Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
	24	25	26	27	28	1	2

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March

	Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	10	S	P	R	I	N	G
	17	B	R	E	A	K	23
	24	25	26	27	28	29	30

April

	Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
	31	1	2	3	4	5	6
	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
	28	29	30

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May

	Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1	2	3	4
	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
	26	27	28	29	30	31

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General Directions

1. This course will use the following books, available for purchase in the student bookstore:

• Gordon = Gordon, April A. and Donald L. Gordon (eds.), 2012 Fifth Edition. Get this NEW Edition! Understanding Contemporary Africa.
• M Wrong, I Didn’t Do It For You

2. All other texts are available via hyperlink. Please note that many, if not all, are only available to students via login.

3. This is a reading-intensive course. All readings should be read in the order presented. That is also their order of priority.

4. This schedule is subject to change.

5. Please upload all assignments, except blog posts, to Turnitin.com (instructions to follow).

I recommend you keep up with African news and scholarship. Some great sources include:  The Economist, BBC News Online, The Financial Times, Reuters (has a great Africa website)

Academic: Journal of Modern African Studies

Think Tanks: Center for Global Development Working Papers

Blogs:

• http://developmentdrums.org/
• http://chrisblattman.blogspot.com/
• http://africanarguments.org/
• http://www.african-politics.com/
• http://texasinafrica.blogspot.com/

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Class 1

Introduction to Africa, Locating Africa in World Politics.

Is Africa different from the rest of the world? What are some of the challenges Africa poses to international relations scholars?

Course Activities: Introductions

Readings:

• Miguel, Edward. 2008. “New Democracy Forum: Is it Africa’s Turn?”. Boston Review. (May/June). Read pages 1 – 12; skim the rest based on your own interest.
• Gordon. Chapters 1 – 3.

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Class 2

Africa’ Pre-Colonial International Relations.

Were there international relations between African polities prior to the colonial period? With the rest of the world?

Course Activities: (1) Sign-up for blog responsibilities; (2) Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Gennaioli, N, and I Rainer. 2007. The modern impact of precolonial centralization in Africa. Journal of Economic Growth. See “Statistics” under recommended readings.”
• Smith, Robert. 1973. “Peace and Palaver: International Relations in Pre-Colonial West Africa.” The Journal of African History. 14(4). 599 – 621.
• Englebert, P. 2000. Pre-Colonial Institutions, Post-Colonial States, and Economic Development in Tropical Africa. Political Research Quarterly. 53(1). 7.

Methods Reading (Strongly Recommended):

• User’s Guide to Political Science. “Statistics.” The section on reading regression results may be helpful in interpreting the Gennaioli and Englebert readings.

Recommended:

• Schraeder, Peter. 2000. “Chapter 4: Politics and Economics of the Precolonial Independence Era (Prior to 1884)” in African Politics and Society: A Mosaic in Transformation (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s).
• Jeffrey Herbst, Chapter 2 “Power and Space in Precolonial Africa” from States and Power in Africa (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000).

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Class 3

Africa’s Colonial Period

Does Africa’s colonial heritage shape its international relations today? What was the nature of the colonial period? How did African colonies relate to each other and the rest of the world? How did their relationships with colonial masters affect their foreign policies after independence?

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Begin reading Wrong.
• User’s Guide to Political Science. “The Research Question” for the class assignment
• Gordon. Chapter 4
• Nunn, Nathan. 2007. “Historical legacies: A model linking Africa’s past to its current underdevelopment.” Journal of Development Economics. 83: 157 – 175.

Recommended:

• Jeffrey Herbst, Chapter 3 “The Europeans and the African Problem” from States and Power in Africa (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000).

Methods Reading:

• User’s Guide to Political Science. “Game Theory and Models.“ for interpreting the Nunn reading

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Class 4

Eritrea and the colonial period; African Independence

What is the significance of African interdependence for its international relations? For the international community more generally?

* Journal 1. Compare the impacts of pre-colonial and colonial legacies for your country’s politics and foreign relations with those of Eritrea. Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison.

Course Activities:Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Wrong. Read Foreword and Chapters 1 – 12.
  

Recommended:

• Herbst. Chapter 4, “The Political Kingdom in Independent Africa.”
• McKeon, Nora. 1966. “The African States and the OAU.” International Affairs, 42 (3), pages 390 – 409.
• Nkrumah, Kwame. “Introduction.”Africa Must Unite.
• Nugent, Paul. 2004. “A Profile of Africa at Independence.” “Section 2.3. Variations in political geography.” In Africa Since Independence. Read pages: 65 – 70.

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Class 5

Finishing the path to Eritrean Independence

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion.

Readings:

• FINISH reading Wrong’s I Didn’t Do It For You.
• http://www.michelawrong.com/article-2-how-double-dealing-built-a-pariah-state-by-michela-wrong.html

Recommended:

• Clapham, Christopher. Chapter 5. “The Foreign Policies of Ethiopia and Eritrea,” in African Foreign Policies.
• Iyob, Ruth. 2000. “The Ethiopian-Eritrean Conflict: diasporic vs. hegemonic states in the Horn of Africa, 1991-2000.” The Journal of Modern African Studies. 38 (4).

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Class 6

Neo-patrimonialism & the African State

DUE TODAY: Research description

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion.
Readings:

• Taylor, Ian, & Paul D Williams. 2008. “Political culture, state elites and regional security in West Africa.” Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 26(2), 137–149.
• Lemarchand, R. 1972. “Political Clientelism and Ethnicity in Tropical Africa: Competing Solidarities in Nation-Building.” American Political Science Review, 66(1), 68-90.

Recommended:

• Review: Gordon. Pages 71 – 108.
• Pitcher, A, MH Moran, and M Johnston. 2009. “Rethinking Patrimonialism and Neopatrimonialism in Africa.” African Studies Review. 52(1). 125-156.
• Hyden, Goran. 2006. “Chapter 4: The Economy of Affection” and  “Chapter 5: Big Man Rule” in African Politics in Comparative Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press).

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Class 7

Catch-up!

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Class 8

The African State System & African Foreign Policy-Making

How do African States develop their foreign policies? What are some of the factors that African states take into account in their foreign policy decision-making?

* Journal 2. Describe the current political institutions and political culture of your country. Is there evidence of neo-patrimonialism? How might the political institutions and political culture affect your country’s foreign policy and international relations? Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• * Gordon. Chapter 6, “African International Relations” by Peter J. Schraeder. This is your priority!
• Lemke, Douglas. 2003. “African Lessons for International Relations Research.”World Politics.

Read ONE of the following:

• Adibe, Clement A. Chapter 2. “Foreign Policy Decisionmaking in Anglophone West Africa,” in African Foreign Policies: Power and Process
• Schraeder, Peter J. Chapter 3. “New Directions in Francophone West African Foreign Policies,” in African Foreign Policies: Power and Process

Recommended:

• Warner, Carolyn M. 2001. The rise of the state system in Africa. Review of International Studies. 27. 65-89.
• Anton du Plessis. 2002. Excerpt from Chapter 6 “Analysing and evaluating foreign policy” from Power, Wealth and Global Equity edited by Patrick J. McGowan and Phlip Nel.
• Clark, John F. Chapter 6. “Realism, Neo-Realism and Africa’s International Relations in the Post-Cold War Era,” in Africa’s Challenge to International Relations Theory.
• Nkiwane, Tandeka C. 2001. “Africa and International Relations: Regional Lessons for a Global Discourse.” International Political Science Review. 22 (3). 279-290.
• Malaquias, Assis. 2001. “Reformulating International Relations Theory: African Insights and Challenges,” Africa’s Challenge to International Relations Theory.
• Ayoob, Mohammed. 1998. Chapter Two. “Subaltern Realism: International Relations Theory Meets the third World,” in International Relations Theory and the Third World (New York: St. Martin’s Press).

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Class 9

African International Relations: The case of South Africa

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Alden, Chris and Miles Soko. 2005. “South Africa’s economic relations with Africa: hegemony and its discontents.”
• Alden, Chris and Garth le Pere. 2010. “Strategic Posture Review: South Africa.” World Politics Review. 2010-05-19.
  
• South Africa Department of International Relations and Cooperation. 2009. Strategic Plan 2010 – 2013. Concentrate on Parts 1 and 2.

Recommended:

• van der Westhuizen, Janis. 2009. “Has South Africa lost its soft power?” posted in The Argument, Foreign Policy.
• Garth le Pere & Anthoni van Nieuwkerk. 2002. Chapter 14. “The evolution of South Africa’s foreign policy, 1994-2000” from Power, Wealth and Global Equity edited by Patrick J. McGowan and Phlip Nel.

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Class 10

The United States and Africa

* Journal 3. Discuss United States relations with your country.

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• McCaskie, Tom C. 2008. “The United States, Ghana and Oil: Global and Local Perspectives.” African Affairs.
• van de Walle, Nicolas. 2010. “US Policy Towards Africa: The Bush Legacy and the Obama Administration.” African Affairs.
• Rothchild, Donald. Here

Recommended:

• Africa Action. Africa Policy Outlook 2010.
• AFRICOM
• US AID Africa
• US State Department Bureau of African Affairs

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Class 11

Catch-up Day

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Class 12

Africa in the Global Economy

Is Africa peripheral to the global economy? What does that mean? Why is most of Africa poor?

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Gordon. Chapter 5. “The Economies of Africa.”
• McKinsey Company. “Lions on the move: The progress and potential of African economies.” June 2010.
• ADB/OECD. “African Economic Outlook” and “Countries”. Follow links and read in the “Outlook” section. Pick one or two countries to focus on in the “Countries” section.

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Spring Break – No Class

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Class 13

Africa in Global Governance

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Nelson, Michael. 2008. “Trouble with peanuts and camel cheese.” 
• Nelson, Michael. 2013. “Viewing governance from below.” Draft

Recommended:

• Murithi, Timothy. 2010. “The African Union as an International Actor.”
• Bariagaber, Assefaw. 2010. “The Evolving UN-Africa Relations Since the End of the Cold War.”
• Nugent, Paul. 2004. Chapter 8. “Invasion of the Acronyms: SAPs, AIDS and the NGO Takeover.” In Africa Since Independence.

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Class 14

Foreign Aid

* Journal 4. Does your country receive foreign aid? From whom?  Relate your country’s experiences with economic development to our readings on foreign aid. Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison.

Is foreign aid a good thing for Africa?

Readings:

• Moss, Todd. “Chapter 8. The International Aid System.”
• Moyo, Dambisa. “1. The Myth of Aid” (pages 3 – 11); “4. The Silent Killer of Growth”.
• USAID. http://www.usaid.gov/where-we-work/africa. (explore the website a little)

Recommended:

• Duncan Green on Dambisa Moyo (blog post)
• Lancaster, Carol. 1999. “Chapter 3. Aid and Development in Africa.” In Aid to Africa: So Much to Do, So Little Done.
• Sachs, Jeffrey D. et al. Ending Africa’s Poverty Trap.
• Sachs, Jeffrey D. “How Aid Can Work” December 21, 2006. The New York Review of Books. Available at http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/File/about/director/documents/NYRB-December212006-HowAidCanWork.pdf
• Kevane, Michael. (2004). “Chapter 2: Explaining Underdevelopment in Africa” in Women and Development in Africa: How Gender Works, pp. 7-28.
• Gordon. Chapter 10, “Women and Development” by April A. Gordon.

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Class 15

Resource Politics

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Leonard, David and Scott Strauss. Africa’s Stalled Development. Excerpt. Focus especially on Chapter 4 pages 63 – 75.
• Watts, M. 2004. Resource curse? governmentality, oil and power in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Geopolitics. 9(1). 50-80.

Recommended:

• Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson. 2003. Chapter 4. An African Success Story: Botswana. In In Search of Prosperity: Analytic Narratives on Economic Growth, ed. Dani Rodrik. 80-122. Princeton University Press.
• Jedrzej George and Manuel Paulo. 2007. “A New Scramble for African Oil? Historical, Political, and Business Perspectives.” African Affairs, 106/423, 229-251.
• Ross, ML. 2003. Oil, Drugs, and Diamonds: The Varying Roles of Natural Resources in Civil War. In The Political Economy of Armed Conflict–Beyond Greed and Grievance, eds. Karen Ballentine, and Jake Sherman.

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Class 16

Conflicts and Conflict Management (I): DRC

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion.

* Journal 5. Discuss and analyze any violent conflicts involving your country (civil or interstate). Consider also the roles played by regional and international actors. Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison.

Readings:

• Reyntjens, Filip. 2005. The privatisation and criminalisation of public space in the geopolitics of the Great Lakes region. Journal of Modern African Studies. 43 (4). 587 – 607.
• Autesserre, Séverine. 2012. Dangerous tales: Dominant narratives on the Congo and their unintended consequences. African Affairs, 111(443), 202-222.

Highly Recommended:

• Reuters AlertNet. “Congo (DR) conflict”

Recommended:

• Autesserre, S. 2008. “The Trouble With Congo.” Foreign Affairs.
• GlobalSecurity.org “Congo War”
• French, Howard. 2005. Selections from A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa. Chapters 10 and 11 may be especially useful.
• Taylor, Ian. 2003. “Conflict in Central Africa: Clandestine Networks & Regional/Global Configurations.” Review of African Political Economy. 95: 45 – 55.
• Hyden, Goran. 2006. “Chapter 9: Ethnicity and Conlict” in African Politics in Comparative Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press).
• Olonisakin, Funmi. Chapter 13. “Conflict and conflict resolution in Africa” from Power, Wealth and Global Equity edited by Patrick J. McGowan and Phlip Nel.

 

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Class 17

Conflicts and Conflict Management: Congo (II)

+ The ICC and Africa

Readings:

• Froitzheim, M, F Söderbaum, & I Taylor. 2011. The Limits of the EU as a Peace and Security Actor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africa Spectrum, 45, 70.
• Arieff, Alexis, Rhoda Margesson, Marjorie Ann Browne, & Matthew C. Weed. 2010. International Criminal Court Cases in Africa: Status and Policy Issues. Congressional Research Service.

Highly Recommended:

• Akande, Dapo et al. 2010. “Position Paper: An African expert study on the African Union concerns about Article 16 of the Rome Statute of the ICC.” Institute for Security Studies.
• Keppler, Elise. 2012. Managing Setbacks for the International Criminal Court in Africa. Journal of African Law, 56(01), 1-14.

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Class 18

DUE TODAY: Group Draft Outline

Europe and Africa

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Taylor, Ian. Chapters 2 and 3.

Recommended:

• Chafer, Tony. 2002. “Franco-African Relations: No Longer So Exceptional?” African Affairs, 101, pages 343-363.
• European Commission External Relations. “The EU’s relations with Africa.”
• Europafrica.net
• Leonard, David K. 2008. “The US, France and military roles in the African ‘gap’.” Review of International Political Economy. 15 (2). 314 – 331.
• Stevens, Christopher. 2006. “The EU, Africa and Economic Partnership Agreements: unintended consequences of policy leverage.” Journal of Modern African Studies. 44 (3). 441 – 458.

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Class 19

China, the Global South, and Africa

* Journal 6. Which foreign countries matter most to your country? How and why? Compare your country’s foreign relations with at least three countries, including China. Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison.

Readings:

• Lagerkvist, J., & Jonsson, G. 2011. Occasional Papers: Vol. 5. Foreign aid, trade and development: The strategic presence of china, japan and korea in sub-saharan africa. Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

Recommended

• Gadzala, Aleksandra and Marek Hanusch. 2010. ” African Perspectives on China-Africa: Gauging Popular Perceptions and their Economic and Political Determinants”. Afrobarometer.
• Corkin, L. 2011. Making the Most of Commodities Programme (MMCP) Discussion Paper No. 2: Chinese construction companies in angola: A local linkages perspective. University of Cape Town and Open University.
• Brautigam, D. 2011. Chinese development aid in africa: What, where, why, and how much? In Rising china: Global challenges and opportunities. (pp. 203-22). Canberra: Australia National University.
• Taylor, Ian. 2008. Sino-African Relations and the Problem of Human Rights. African Affairs. 107/426. 64 – 86.
• Ricardo Soares de Oliveira. 2008. Chapter 4 “Making Sense of Chinese Oil Investment in Africa” in China Returns to Africa edited by Chris Alden, Daniel Large, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.
• Gregor Dobler. 2008. Chapter 12. “Solidarity, Xenophobia and The Regulation of Chinese Businesses in Namibia.” in China Returns to Africa edited by Chris Alden, Daniel Large, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.
• Gaye, Adama. 2008. Chapter 6. “China in Africa: After the Gun and the Bible: A West African Perspective” from China Returns to Africa edited by Christopher Alden, Daniel Large, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.
• Manuel Ennes Ferreira. 2008. Chapter 15. “China in Angola: Just a Passion for Oil?” in China Returns to Africa edited by Chris Alden, Daniel Large, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.

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Class 20

More: The World and Africa; Peer Editing

DUE TODAY: Rough Draft. Email copy to professor prior to class and bring 1 copy to class for peer editing..

Readings:

• Hsueh, Roselyn and Michael Nelson. “Who wins? China wires Africa.”
• Gadzala, Aleksandra and Marek Hanusch. 2010. ” African Perspectives on China-Africa: Gauging Popular Perceptions and their Economic and Political Determinants”. Afrobarometer.

Recommended:

• “User’s Guide to Political Science: Writing”

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Class 21

The AIDS Crisis

Where is the AIDS crisis a crisis in Africa?  What roles do external players play in the AIDS crisis?

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Gordon. Chapter 7, “Population, Urbanization and AIDS” by April A. Gordon. Especially section on AIDS.

• Whiteside, Alan and Julia Smith. 2009. “Exceptional Epidemics: AIDS still deserves a global response.” Globalization and Health. 5 (15). November.
• Joireman, Sandra F. “HIV/AIDS in Africa and US National Security.”

Recommended:

• UNAIDS: Botswana Progress Report
• Youde, Jeremy. 2005. “The Development of a Counter-Epistemic Community: AIDS, South Africa, and International Regimes.” International Relations. 19. 421 ppf.
• Ruth Levine and Nandini Oomman. 2009. “Global HIV/AIDS Funding and Health Systems: Searching for the Win-Win”. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.” 52 (1). November. pages S3-S5
• PEPFAR. 2009. “The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: Five-Year Strategy”.

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Class 22

Due Today: Group Rough Draft

The Environment: Water

Course Activities: Lecture/Discussion

Readings:

• Gordon. Chapter 8, “Africa’s Environmental Problems” by Julius E. Nyang’oro.
• Hensengerth. “Chinese hydropower companies and environmental norms in countries of the global South…”
• UNEP. 2005. Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Africa. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme. Focus on Chapter 2; skim the rest if you have the time

Recommended:

• Bosshard, Peter. 2008. “China’s Environmental Footprint in Africa”. SAIIA China in Africa Policy Briefing.
• UNEP. 2005. Facing the Facts: Assessing the Vulnerability of Africa’s Water Resources to Environmental Change. Nairobi: UNEP.
• van Edig, Annette, Nick van de Giessen, Mark Andreini and Wolfram Laube. “Transboundary, institutional, and legal aspects of the Water Resources Commission in Ghana.”

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Class 23

Class Research Presentations

Instructions for Panel Presentations.  Presentations should last 25 minutes. There will then be 15 minutes of time for Q&A. Presentations should stress the overarching themes you all find in your work. The point is to view this as a workshop and an opportunity to get feedback from your colleagues. You should then be able to incorporate some of that feedback into the final drafts.

Course Activities: Presentations

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Class 24

Class Research Presentations

Course Activities: Presentations

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Class 25

Class Research Presentations

Course Activities: Presentations
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Class 26

LAST DAY OF CLASS → Future Directions for Africa

* Journal 7. Based on what you have discovered this term, how would you advise your country’s leaders in their engagement with the world?

Part 1: Finish presentations, if necessary.
Part 2: What have we learned? What are some of the likely future scenarios for political relationships within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world?

Readings:

• Gordon. Chapter 13, “Trends and Prospects”
• Hyden, Goran. 2006. “Chapter 12: Quo Vadis Africa” in African Politics in Comparative Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press).

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end of classes
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no final exam
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final research projects due May 14 @ 5 pm

email entire group project to professor as a single file
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individual assessment of group project due May 15 @ 5pm

email to professor.