UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FIRST SEMESTER, 2020/2021
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE TITLE: POST-CONFLICT
PEACEBUILDING AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
COURSE CODE: POLI 455
COURSE VENUE: SAKAI PLATFORM/MEETGOOGLE/ZOOM
LECTURE PERIOD: MONDAY: 17:30 – 19:20
TUESDAY: 07:30-9:20
COURSE INSTRUCTORS:
A. K. D. FREMPONG
Office Location: F20 Kweku Folson
Building, Dept. of Political Science
Office Hours: Monday 7.30-8.30am,
Wednesday: 12.30pm-1.30pm
Email: akdfrempong@ug.edu.gh
DR. ABDUL-JALILU ATEKU
Office Location: F20 Kweku Folson
Building, Dept. of Political Science
Office Hours: Thursday 09.30-10.30
Email: aateku@ug.edu.gh
PURPOSE
AND OBJECTIVES |
The
task of building peace after violent conflict is more arduous than
prosecuting the war itself. The situation is made worse particularly in
post-Cold War Conflicts in Africa characterised by violation of all tenets of
war, high civilian casualty and displacement, proliferation of warring
factions each carving a colony for itself and demanding a seat at the peace
conference table, long periods of ‘no war, no peace’ situations, the use of
Child Soldiers, etc. Upon
completion of this course students should be able to: Understand
the tasks of post-conflict peacebuilding and the various approaches in
dealing with them. Examine
related basic concepts Understand
the nature of post-Cold War Conflicts and Peace Settlement as well as
Post-Conflict Societies. Critically
discuss specific aspects of post-conflict peacebuilding with case studies -
Elections, Reintegration (of the displaced, child soldiers, women, etc),
Security and Transitional Justice. To
sensitise and enhance the ability of students to contribute to discussions on
issues of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Transitional Justice On each
of the various topics, worst case scenarios and/or best practices will be
examined. Readings
on some case studies are assigned to give student practical meaning to the
theoretical issues discussed. CASE
STUDIES:
Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone/Gambia |
||||
WEEK NO |
Date |
Lecture
Course |
Tutorials |
Venue |
|
1-2 |
18th
January- 29th January 2021 |
Understanding
Post Conflict, Peacebuilding & Transitional Justice |
What is
Post-conflict, Peacebuilding &Transitional Justice |
SAKAI/ZOOM/MEET
GOOGLE |
|
3 |
1st
February - 5th February 2021 |
Nature
of Post-Cold War Conflicts and Overview of Post Conflict Societies |
Features
of Post-Cold War conflicts & Post Conflict societies |
SAKAI/ZOOM/MEET
GOOGLE |
|
4 |
8th
February – 12th February 2021 |
|
Discuss
Peace Settlements Case
Studies: Liberia & CIV Analyse
Post Conflict Elections Case
Studies: Liberia/ CIV |
SAKAI/ZOOM/MEET
GOOGLE |
|
5 |
15th
February – 19th February, 2021 |
Reintegration
of the War Affected: The Displaced, Women, Child Soldiers |
Define
Reintegration & discuss IDPs, Child Soldiers etc |
SAKAI/ZOOM/MEET
GOOGLE |
|
6 |
22nd
February – 26th February, 2021 |
Transitional
Justice |
Examine
different modes of Transitional Justice Case
Study: Sierra Leone |
SAKAI/ZOOM/MEET
GOOGLE |
|
Reading List
Michael W. Doyle & Nicholalas Sambanis (1999) Peace
building : Challenges and Strategies After Civil War http://www.worldbank.org/research/conflict/papers/building.pdf
Eugenia Date-Baah (2007) Challenges of
Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Some Reflections, Accra: Ghana Academy
of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) Inaugural Lecture.
Priscilla B. Hayner (2002) “Confronting Past
Crimes”, in Unspeakable Truths, New York/London: Routledge,
Chapter 2, pp. 10-23
Goliath Business News (2007) “Intra-State Conflicts
in the Post-Cold War Era”, International Journal on World Peace Online, 1
December, http://goliath.ecnext,com/coms2/gi_0199-7634177/Intra-state-conflicts-in-the.html
Abdul-Jalilu Ateku (2020)
“Regional Intervention in the Promotion of Democracy in West Africa: Analysis
of the Political Crisis and ECOWAS Coercive Diplomacy in the Gambia”, Conflict,
Security and Development, Vol 20
(6).
Abdul-Jalilu
Ateku (2019)
“How the Gambia is Going about its Search for Truth and Reconciliation”, The Conversation, 27 March https://theconversation.com/how-the-gambia-is-going-about-its-search-for-truth-and-reconciliation-114203.
E. H. Bombande and Z. S. Takwa (2007) Ouagadougou
Peace Accord: A Break-Through At Last? WANEP Policy Brief.
M. Ndulo and S. Lulo (2010) “Free and Fair
Elections, Violence and Conflict”, Harvard ILJ Online, Vol.
51, July.
S. Michailof, M. Kostner and X. Devictor
(2002) Post-Conflict Recovery in Africa: An Agenda for the Africa
Region, World Bank African Region Working Paper Series, No. 30.
C. A. Crocker, F. O. Hampson and P. Aall (2004)
“Recipes for Securing Settlement” and “Making Settlement Stick”, Taming
Intractable Conflicts: Mediation in the Hardest Cases, Washington D.
C: USIP Press, Chps. 7 & 8, pp. 149-184.
W. Kune (2010) The Role of Elections
in Emerging Democracies and Post Conflict Countries: Key Issues, Lessons Learnt
and Dilemmas, FES International Policy Analysis.
K. D. Loetzer and A. Casper (2011) After
the Presidential Election in Cote d’ Ivoire, KAS International Report.
Priscilla B. Hayner (2002) “Why a Truth
Commission?”, in Unspeakable Truths, New York/London:
Routledge, Chapter 3, pp. 24-31.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS, ASSESSMENT AND GRADING:
1.
The course will
last for 6 weeks.
2.
Each class will
have a four-hour lecture in addition to tutorials per week.
3.
The online
platforms Sakai, meet google and zoom will be the mode of teaching. The lecture
material will be made available to you at the resources section of Sakai. All
class exercises will be undertaken through the Sakai.
4.
There will be
class exercises which will constitute 70% of the student assessment for the
semester and end of semester examination which will constitute 30%. Students
will be required to answer questions including multiple-choice questions.
Plagiarism Policy
Be reminded
of UG Plagiarism Policy (Refer to UG Public Affairs Website)