Module Code: POU44040
Module Name: African Politics 2020-21
- ECTS Weighting: 10
- Semester/Term Taught: Semester 1 and 2
- Contact Hours: One 2-hour seminar per week
- Module Personnel: Dr Michelle D'Arcy
- Office hours: Email for appointment
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
- Discuss the roles of different governance actors (International financial institutions, donors, elites, and civil society) in the political economy of African states
- Understand authoritarian post-colonial African regimes and the reasons why democratization began in the early 1990s
- Assess the nature and impact of democracy in African states
- Analyze the nature and impact of economic crisis and reform on the continent
- Discuss the causal factors leading to instability and civil wars
- Debate whether or not external aid has helped or hindered African states
- Analyze the debates on gender, health and HIV/AIDS and what they tell us about future development trajectories
- Be able to critique readings, analyze evidence and construct arguments
Module Learning Aims
To develop an understanding of the major issues, actors and trends shaping African politics today and the key theories that help to explain these dynamics.
Module Content
Engaging with both established theories and emerging research, the course will challenge some stereotypical views of African states and provide a nuanced understanding of the dynamics of African politics. During the course we will look at the legacies of colonialism in Africa, post-colonial experiences of authoritarian rule, recent moves towards democracy, the causes and consequences of economic crisis, the persistence of conflict and crises in health.
Recommended Reading List
- Nicolas van de Walle. 2001. African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979-1999. Cambridge University Press.
- Jeffrey Herbst. 2000. States and Power in Africa. Princeton University Press.
Assessment Details:
100% coursework