Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa Fall 2014 POLS 177

Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa
Fall 2014
POLS 177
Section A: Tues/Thurs 10:00 – 11:15, Votey 254
Section B: Tues/Thurs 8:30 – 9:45, Lafayette 403
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Instructor: Peter VonDoepp
Phone: 656-4451
Office: 535 Old Mill
Office hours: Tues/Thurs, 2-4.
E-mail: [email protected]
OVERVIEW
The purpose of this class is twofold. In the first place, it will expose students to the diverse mosaic of
political and social life in Africa. As Americans, we tend to have very limited knowledge about Africa.
What we know comes from films and sensationalist TV journalism that present the image of a continent
marred by poverty, civil conflict, and political instability. To be sure, this image conveys some element
of truth. But Africa is also a continent of modern cities with excellent universities, admirable leaders who
have brought political stability to their countries, and rich traditions of political and cultural innovation.
In the second place, and more fundamentally, our task is to develop an understanding of the factors
shaping the character of African politics. Why has stability been a challenge in African polities? What
are the reasons for development success and failure? What are the prospects for democracy? In
answering these questions, we will examine Africa’s historical experiences, its economic heritage, and the
international context in which it is embedded. At the same time, we will explore how Africans have
responded to unique circumstances to shape their own political and economic situations.
COURSE MATERIAL
*Pierre Englebert and Kevin Dunn, Inside African Politics (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2013).
*Adu Boahen, African Perspectives on Colonialism (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1987).
Please note as well, many items on the syllabus will be available on the class Blackboard page.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This is a readings-intensive course. You are expected to keep up with assigned readings and come to
class prepared to discuss them. To encourage this, there will be a number of announced, unannounced
and Blackboard quizzes throughout the course of the semester. These will count for five percent of the
course grade. Quizzes may not be made up, but the lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
There will be one midterm exam, worth 25 percent of the course grade, and a final exam, worth 30
percent. Exams will involve a variety of question-types, all focused on the substantive and theoretical
material we have covered in class. Grades will reflect how well you demonstrate a grasp of that material.
Both of these will be “in-class”, but may involve some “take-home” elements.
For the remaining 40 percent of the course grade, you will have the opportunity to choose one of two
paths. The first allows you to engage scholarship on specific topics in African politics; the second allows
you to undertake research on a particular issue. The specifics of these options are as follows:
Option 1: Engaging Scholarship
Option 2: Research Paper

Critical Book Review. Those who take this
option will write one review of a recent
book focused on African politics. Due
dates for the review vary depending on
which book is chosen. More details about
the content of the review will be provided
during the first few weeks of class. Grades
will reflect both substantive and
writing/editorial components. This will be
worth 15 percent of course grade.

Research Paper: Those who take this
option will write a brief (12-15 pages)
research paper for the course. Students
will select their own topic, approved by the
instructor. Three elements of this paper
will be graded: topic statements,
preliminary outlines, and final drafts. All
must be handed in; due dates are listed
below. Grades will reflect both
substantive/research and writing/editorial
components. Suggested topics will be
provided in the first few weeks of class.
The overall grade for the paper will count
for 25 percent of the class grade.

Students will write five brief synopses of
articles and chapters that we will be
covering in class. Material that is indicated
in bold on the syllabus is eligible for
review. A total of eleven articles and
chapters are eligible, so students will need
to be selective about which material they
choose to review. Each of these reviews is
worth five percent, making this portion of
the coursework worth an overall total of 25
percent. Note: Two of these reviews
MUST be completed by October 7.

Students will write three brief synopses of
articles and chapters that we will be
covering in class. Material that is indicated
in bold on the syllabus is eligible for
review. A total of eleven articles and
chapters are eligible, so students will need
to be selective about which material they
choose to review. Each of these reviews is
worth five percent, making this portion of
the coursework worth an overall total of 15
percent. Note: One of these reviews
MUST be completed by October 7.
CLASSROOM POLICIES AND PROTOCOL
1. Students are expected to attend and be prepared for ALL regularly scheduled classes.
2. Students are expected to arrive on time and stay in class until the class period ends. If a student knows
in advance that s/he will need to leave early, s/he should notify the instructor before the class period
begins.
3. Students are expected to treat faculty and fellow students with respect. For example, students must not
disrupt class by leaving and re-entering during class, must not distract class by making noise, and must be
attentive to comments being made by the instructors and by peers.
4. Religious Holidays: Students have the right to practice the religion of their choice. Each semester
students should submit in writing to their instructors by the end of the second full week of classes their
documented religious holiday schedule for the semester. Faculty must permit students who miss work for
the purpose of religious observance to make up this work.
5. Late papers will be docked five points for every day they are overdue. In all cases of late papers you
should: a) come see me about the problem (when possible beforehand) and b) provide documentation
regarding the nature of the problem.
6. I do not accept papers via email unless I have made prior arrangements to do so.
7. I will be communicating to the class via email, using your UVM email addresses. Please be sure to
monitor your UVM email account accordingly.
COURSE OUTLINE
I. Theoretical and Historical Perspectives
Aug. 26 Problems in Post-Colonial -Syllabus (print and read it);
Africa
-Radalet, “Success Stories from Emerging Africa” (BB);
-Englebert and Dunn, Chapter 1.
Aug. 28 Legacy of the Past
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 17-32;
-Boahen, Chapters 1 and 2;
-Video: “The Magnificent African Cake” (BB).
Sept. 2
Legacy of the Past
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 32-40;
-Boahen, Chapter 3;
-Mamdani, Citizen and Subject, Chapter 2 (BB).
Sept. 4
Legacy of the Past
-Boahen, Chapter 4;
-Video: “The Rise of Nationalism” (BB).
II. Weak States and Post-Colonial Governance
Sept. 9 Weak States and Post-Ayittey, “The March Toward Tyranny” (BB);
Colonial Governance
-Englebert and Dunn, 129-145.
Sept.11
Sept.16
Weak States and PostColonial Governance
Stability and Instability
Sept.18
-Case Study: Zaire
-The Consequences of
Neopatrimonialism
Sept.23
Social and Political
Responses
-Jackson and Rosberg, “The Marginality of African States” (BB);
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 40-62.
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 149-156;
-Arriola, “Patronage and Political Stability in Africa” (BB).
-Jackson and Rosberg, Personal Rule in Black Africa, pp. 167-181 (BB);
-Englebert, State Legitimacy and Development in Africa, pp. 90-118
(BB).
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 181-188;
-Azarya and Chazan, “Disengagement from the State in Africa:
Reflections on the Experience of Ghana and Guinea” (BB), or
-Aili Tripp, “Local Organizations, Participation, and the State in
Urban Tanzania” (BB).
Book Review Option 1 Due: Pierre Englebert, Africa: Unity,
Sovereignty, Sorrow
III. Democracy and Authoritarianism in Contemporary Africa
Sept. 25 Democratic
-Posner and Young, “The Institutionalization of Political Power in Africa”
Experiments and
(BB);
Democratic Survival
-The Economist, “African Democracy: A Glass Half Full” (BB);
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 188-203.
Sept. 30 Challenges in African -Prempeh, “Presidents Untamed” (BB);
Democracies
-Ochieng’ Opalo, “African Elections: Two Divergent Trends” (BB).
Oct. 2
The Case of Malawi
-VonDoepp, “The Survival of Malawi’s Enfeebled Democracy” (BB);
-VonDoepp, “Governance Trends in Malawi” (BB).
-PAPER TOPIC DUE
Oct. 7
The Case of Ghana
-Arthur, “Democratic Consolidation in Ghana….” (BB);
-Throup, “Ghana: Assessing Risks to Stability” (BB).
Oct. 9
Authoritarianism
Theorized
Oct. 14
MIDTERM
Book Review Option 2 Due: Aili Tripp et al., African Women’s
Movements: Transforming Political Landscapes
-Jensen and Wantchekon, “Resource Wealth and Political Regimes in
Africa” (BB);
-Vines and Weimer, “Angola: Assessing Risks to Stability” (BB).
STUDY
Oct. 16
Authoritarianism in
Practice
-Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, "Business Success, Angola Style..." (BB);
-Video: “Angola, America’s New Frontier” (BB).
Oct. 21
Semiauthoritarianism
Oct. 23
Semiauthoritarianism
-Tripp, Museveni’s Uganda (selections) (BB);
-Barkan, “Uganda: Assessing the Risks to Stability” (BB);
-Kasfir/Freedom House, “Uganda” (BB).
-Mwenda, “Personalizing Power in Uganda” (BB);
-Tangri and Mwenda, “Elite Corruption and Politics in Uganda” (BB).
Book Review Option 3 Due: Giovanni Carbone, No Party Democracy?
Ugandan Politics in Comparative Perspective
IV. The Challenge of Development
Oct. 28
Legacies and Policies -Englebert and Dunn, pp. 213-243.
Oct. 30
The External and
Internal Dimensions
Nov. 4
The Governance
Debate
Nov. 6
The Case of Rwanda
V. Ethnicity and Conflict
Nov. 11
Ethnicity
Nov. 13
Ethnicity
Nov. 18
Patterns of Conflict
Nov. 20
Case Studies of Conflict
Dec. 2
Conflict Resolution
-Todd Moss, “Reflections on Africa’s Rocky Love-Hate Relationship with
International Capital” (BB);
-The Economist, “The Road to Hell is Unpaved” (BB);
-Kaufmann, “Governance Matters” (BB).
-PAPER OUTLINE DUE
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 243-263;
-Mkandawire, “Can Africa Turn from Recovery to Development” (BB).
Book Review Option 4 Due (two options):
-Antoinette Handley, Business and the State in Africa;
-Deborah Brautigam, The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa
-Dalibor Rohac, “The Rwanda Renaissance”(BB);
-Reyntjens, “Constructing the Truth, Dealing with Dissent,
Domesticating the World: Governance in Post-genocide Rwanda”
(BB);
-Video: TBA.
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 63-80;
-Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You, pp. 47-62 (BB).
-Posner, “Regime Change and Ethnic Cleavages in Africa” (BB);
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 80-92.
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 267-298;
-Philip Roessler, “Civil War”(BB).
Book Review Option 5 Due (two options):
-Krijn Peters, War and the Crisis of Youth in Sierra Leone;
-Lee Ann Fujii, Killing Neighbors: Webs of Violence in Rwanda
-Prunier, “South Sudan’s Civil War…” (BB).
-RESEARCH PAPER DUE
-Englebert and Dunn, pp. 298-308;
-Cheeseman, “The Internal Dynamics of Power Sharing in Africa”
(BB).
BOOK REVIEW 6: Autesserre, The Trouble with Congo
SECTION A FINAL: December 11, 7:30 - 10:15
SECTION B FINAL: December 9, 10:30 - 1:15
Appendix 1 – Books for Review and Due Dates
September 23: Pierre Englebert, Africa: Unity, Sovereignty, Sorrow (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner,
2009).
October 7:
Aili Tripp et al., African Women’s Movements: Transforming Political Landscapes (New
York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
October 23:
Giovanni Carbone, No-Party Democracy? Ugandan Politics in Comparative Perspective
(New York, NY: Lynne Rienner, 2008).
November 4:
Antoinette Handley, Business and the State in Africa: Economic Policy-Making in the
Neo-Liberal Era (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
Or:
Deborah Brautigam, The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa (New York,
NY: Oxford University Press 2009).
November 18: Krijn Peters, War and the Crisis of Youth in Sierra Leone (New York, NY: Cambridge
University Press, 2011).
Or:
Lee Ann Fujii, Killing Neighbors: Webs of Violence in Rwanda (Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press, 2009).
December 2:
Severine Autesserre, The Trouble with Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of
International Peacebuilding (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Appendix 2 – Articles for Review and Due Dates
September 2:
Mahmood Mamdani. 1996. Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of
Late Colonialism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (Chapter 2).
September 16: Leonardo Arriola. 2009. “Patronage and Political Stability in Africa.” Comparative
Political Studies 42: (10): 1339-1362.
September 18: Pierre Englebert. 2000. State Legitimacy and Development in Africa. Boulder, CO: Lynne
Rienner Publisher (pages 90-118).
September 23: Victor Azarya and Naomi Chazan. 1988. “Disengagement from the State in Africa:
Reflections on the Experience of Ghana and Guinea.” Comparative Studies in Society
and History 29 (1): 106-131.
Or:
Aili Tripp.1992 “Local Organizations, Participation, and the State in Urban Tanzania.” In
Goran Hyden and Michael Bratton, eds., Governance and Politics in Africa. CO: Lynne
Rienner Publisher, 221-242.
September 30: Kennedy Ochieng’ Opalo. 2012. “African Elections: Two Divergent Trends.” Journal of
Democracy 23 (3): 80-93.
October 7:
Peter Arthur. 2010. “Democratic Consolidation in Ghana: The Role and Contribution of
the Media, Civil Society and State Institutions.” Commonwealth and Comparative
Politics 48 (2): 203-226.
October 9:
Nathan Jensen and Leonard Wantchekon. 2004. “Resource Wealth and Political Regimes
in Africa.” Comparative Political Studies 37 (1): 816-841.
October 16:
Ricardo Soares de Oliveira. 2007. “Business Success, Angola Style: Postcolonial Politics
and the Rise and Rise of Sonangol.” Journal of Modern African Studies 45, (4): 495-619.
November 6:
Filip Reyntjens. 2010. “Constructing the Truth, Dealing with Dissent, Domesticating the
World: Governance in Post-genocide Rwanda.” African Affairs 110 (438): 1-34.
November 13: Daniel Posner. 2007. “Regime Change and Ethnic Cleavages in Africa.” Comparative
Political Studies 40 (11): 1302-1337.
December 2:
Nic Cheeseman. 2011. “The Internal Dynamics of Power Sharing in Africa.”
Democratization 11 (2): 336-365.