COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST FOR POLI 358 CONFLICT AND SOCIETY IN AFRICA

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

SECOND SEMESTER, 2014/15 ACADEMIC YEAR

COURSE TITLE	CONFLICT AND SOCIETY IN AFRICA
COURSE CODE	POLI 358
Lecturer	Dr Kumi Ansah-Koi Contact: 024 501 3066; kktak55@gmail.com
Purpose / Objectives	In popular thought many people see Africa as conflict-laden and conflict-struck, if not conflict-prone. It is indeed a fact that many of the intractable, horrendous, and nightmarish conflicts of this day and age are taking place on the African continent. The genocidal Rwandan Civil War, the Al-Shabab Imbroglio engulfing Somalia and Kenya (to name only two concerned African states), the on-going Boko Haram menace now spreading beyond its original Nigerian national boundaries, the natural resource/religion based conflict in the Central African Republic, the mess in post-Gaddafi Libya, and the activities of Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb In this course we pursue the themes of society and conflict in Africa. The focus of the course is really on contemporary African society and its conflicts. However we do not entirely rule out the very consequential historical antecedents and pertinent episodes, such as the trade in African Slaves and its attendant conflicts, the 1884/85 Berlin Congress that precipitated the European Partitioning and Colonization of Africa, the Algerian War for Independence in particular and the African Liberation Struggle in general, the anti-Apartheid Struggle, and a lot more. Upon successful completion of this course students would have a thorough grasp of the changing societal contexts and influences marking the conflict terrain in Africa. They would also have a grasp of the issues and circumstances marking the wide and complex spectrumof conflicts in Africa. Focus in the Course spans the entire spectrum of Pre-Conflict, Conflict (Management/Resolution) and Post-Conflict (Transitional Justice; Peace Building/Making; National Reconciliation) Stages of the entire wide diversity of Conflicts in Africa. Regular attendance at, and full participation in, lectures and tutorials are insisted on in this course. Students would have to closely follow current affairs and developments on the African continent. BBC Africa, for example, should be regularly listened to. Video clips, and other multi-media presentations and assignments, are integrated into the teaching modality of this course End of Semester examination will consist of six essay questions covering the entire course; out of which students would be required to answer only three. An assignment, to be given in class mid-way through the course, would constitute the mandatory 30% Interim Assessment grade.

Week	Lecture Themes/Topics
1	The Matrix: Africa and/in the Global Context
2	1.       Society and State in Africa. 2.       Conflict Studies: Basic Paradigms
3-4	Conflicts in Africa: (1.) Causation: The Grudge/Grievance versus Greed Debate. (2.) Environment/Context  (3) Typology (4) Nature/Manifestations  (5) Costs/Impact
5-6	Conflicts in Africa: Case Studies. Selections would be drawn largely from the following: a.       Religion and Conflict: The Central African Republic Conflict                                        The Boko Haram Mess                                         Al Shabab (in Somalia and Kenya)                                         Al Qaeda in the Maghreb                                         The Lord’s Resistance Army b.      Identity/Ethnicity and       The Nigerian Civil War; the Sahara Conflicts in Africa               Arab Republic; The Rwandan Civil. War  c.       Natural Resources and        The Angolan Civil War Conflicts in Africa                  The Sierra Leonean Civil War                                                 The Congo Mess; the Biafran war.                                                  The Ivorian Civil War; The Great                                                                                      Lakes regional war. d.      Power/Political Struggles       The Liberian/Sierra Leonean and Conflicts in Africa             Civil Wars; the African Liberation                                                                   Struggles; the Ivorian Civil War;                                                                  The anti-Apartheid struggles; the                                                                   Arab/Spring pro-democracy                                                                    Conflicts; etc.        (e) Geographical/Border               Nigeria/Cameroon; Ghana/Ivory              /Boundary Disputes                   Coast; etc.
7-8	Conflicts in Africa: Themes we shall closely pursue include the following: (a) Children and Conflicts in Africa (Child Soldiers, etc.) (b) Women/Gender and Conflicts in Africa (c) Arms Proliferation and Trafficking (d) Foreign dimensions to African Conflicts (e) Migration, Displacement, Refugees and African Conflicts
9-10	International Organizations and the Management/Resolution of African Conflicts: The UN, AU, and ECOWAS
11-12	Peace Building/Making and Post-Conflict Settlement in Africa: Transitional Justice, Peace Settlements, National Reconciliation, etc. Course Review

Basic Readings

1.      William Zaitman, Ripe for Resolution

2.      Francis M. Deng & William Zaitman (eds), Conflict Resolution in Africa.

3.      The Constitutive Act of the Au

4.      ECOWAS Non-Aggression Treaty of 1970

5.      Joan Spero, The Politics of International Relation

6.      The (1986) ECOWAS Protocol on Mutual Assistance on Defence

7.      The (December 2000) ECOWAS Protocol on conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution.

8.      BBC AfricaNews