DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
SCHOOL
OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
SECOND SEMESTER 2015/2016 ACADEMIC
YEAR
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course
Code and Title: POLI 358. CONFLICT AND SOCIETY IN AFRICA
Credits:
3 credit hours
Lecture
Period and Venue: Mondays 17:30-19:20 at
JQB09
Prerequisites:
None
Course
Instructor: Dr. Kumi Ansah-Koi
Office
Location: Kweku Folson Block, Political Science Department
Office
Hours: Tuesdays, 14:00-17:00
Teaching
Assistant: Noble
Setsoafia Kwasitsey
E-mail: nksetsoafia@st.ug.edu.gh
Course Overview: 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-Shabaab
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.
Course
Objectives/Goals:
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 spectrum of 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) as well as stages of the entire wide
diversity of Conflicts in Africa.
Learning
Outcomes:
Students will at the end of the course
be able to:
1. Engage
with current literature on African conflict.
2. Identify
conflicts in Africa and summarize the factors responsible for their existence.
3. Critically
examine the complexity of factors associated with African conflicts.
4. Critically
evaluate the role of various organizations such as the UN, AU and ECOWAS in conflict
situations.
5. Provide
analysis of possible solutions o conflicts by integrating theoretical
perspectives with practical place-based solutions.
Course
Delivery: 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.
Plagiarism
policy: Students are expected to duly cite all
sources used in assignments. Failure to do so will result in an automatic fail
grade for those found culpable.
Assessment and
Grading: 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.
Grading
Scale:
|
Letter
Grade
|
Marks
|
|
A
|
80-100
|
|
B+
|
75-79
|
|
B
|
70-74
|
|
C+
|
65-69
|
|
C
|
60-64
|
|
D+
|
55-59
|
|
D
|
50-54
|
|
E
|
45-49
|
|
F
|
0-44
|
Reading
List/Required Text:
Weekly readings will be provided in
class and on the Sakai platform. In addition, students are expected to read
material from the following sources:
1. The
Constitutive Act of the AU
2. ECOWAS
Non-Aggression Treaty of 1970
3. The
ECOWAS Protocol on Mutual Assistance on Defence
4. The
ECOWAS Protocol on Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution
5.
Deng, F. M., & Zartman, I. W. (Eds.). (1991). Conflict resolution in Africa.
Brookings Institution Press.
6. Hart, J. A., & Spero, J. E. (2013). The politics of international
economic relations. Routledge.
7.
Zartman, I. W. (1989). Ripe
for resolution: Conflict and intervention in Africa. Oxford University
Press on Demand.
Websites
15. http://www.bbc.com/news/world/africa
Other
Information:
This course outline is subject to
modifications as and when necessary. The Sakai platform will always have the
most current version.
It is the responsibility of students to
regularly check on Sakai for latest information regarding this course. The
instructor will not be held liable in cases where students miss relevant
information as a result of failure to do so.
All exams are mandatory and students who
miss them do so at their own expense. Students who miss exams for health
reasons will have to seek written permission from the Head of Department.
Use of mobile phones during lecture
hours is prohibited.
Students with physical challenges and
learning disabilities should not hesitate to communicate their needs to me
early in the semester.
All public holidays will be observed
accordingly. Provision will however be made to accommodate missed lecture
periods.
I am committed to creating an atmosphere
of inclusivity. No student should feel discriminated on basis of religious
orientation, physical ability, nationality, sexual preference or gender. If you
feel threatened at any point during lectures, do not hesitate to draw my attention
to it.
Course Syllabus/Delivery Plan
|
Week
|
Date
|
Lecture
Theme/Topic
|
Comments
|
|
1
|
February
1
|
The
Matrix: Africa and/in Global Context
|
Introduction
|
|
2
|
February
8
|
1.
Society and State in Africa.
2.
Conflicts Studies: Basic Paradigms
|
|
|
3-4
|
February
15
|
Conflicts in
Africa:
1.
Causation: The Grudge/Grievance versus
Greed Debate.
2.
Environment/Context
3.
Typology
4.
Nature/Manifestation
5. Cost/Impact
|
|
|
5-6
|
February
22- February 29
|
Conflicts
in Africa: Case Studies. Selection would be drawn largely from the following:
a.
Religion
and Conflict:
i.
The Central African Republic Conflict
ii.
The Boko Haram Mess
iii.
Al Shabab (in Somalia and Kenya)
iv.
Al Qaeda in the Maghreb
v.
The Lord’s Resistance Army
b.
Identity/
Ethnicity and Conflicts
in Africa War
i.
The Nigerian Civil War
ii.
The Sahara Arab Republic
iii.
The Rwanda Civil War
c.
Natural
Resource and Conflicts
in Africa
i.
The Angolan Civil War
ii.
The Sierra Leonean Civil War
iii.
The Congo Mess
iv.
The Biafran War
v.
The Ivorian Civil War
vi.
The Great Lakes Regional War
d.
Power/Political
Struggles and Conflicts in Africa
i.
The Liberian/Sierra Leonean Civil Wars
ii.
The African Liberation Struggles
The Ivorian Civil War
iii.
The anti-Apartheid Struggles
iv.
The Arab/Spring pro-democracy Conflicts
e. Geographical/Border/Boundary Disputes
i.
Nigeria/Cameroon
ii.
Ghana/Ivory Coast
|
|
|
7
|
March
7
|
Independence
Holiday
|
Mid-term
Assignments
|
|
8-9
|
March
14-21
|
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 Dimension to African Conflicts
(e)
Migration, Displacement, Refugees and African Conflicts
|
|
|
10
|
March
28
|
Easter
Break
|
|
|
11
|
April
4
|
International
Organisations and the Management/Resolution of African Conflicts:
The UN, AU and ECOWAS.
|
|
|
12-14
|
April
11-April 25
|
Peace
Building/Making Post- Conflict Settlement in Africa:
Transitional
Justice, Peace Settlement, National Reconciliation, etc.
Course
Review
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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