Comparative Politics of Middle and Southern Africa PSC 2381 Fall ...

Comparative Politics of Middle and Southern Africa
PSC 2381
Fall 2012
Wednesdays and Fridays
12:45pm to 2pm
Corcoran Hall, room 111
Professor Gina M. S. Lambright
Office: 466 Monroe Hall
Office hours: Fridays 9:30am-11am, and by appt.
Email: glambrig@gwu.edu
Office telephone: 202-994-7591
Course Description:
This course serves as an introduction to the politics of sub-Saharan Africa. The principal
objective is to provide students with both conceptual and theoretical tools and substantive
information that will enable them to understand and explain political events in sub-Saharan
Africa. To achieve this objective we will examine the historical context of contemporary
African politics, focusing on traditional political systems, the legacy of colonialism, and the
politics of the independence period. We will then turn to political development in the
contemporary period, particularly exploring the political relevance and impacts of important
social cleavages and various political institutions. We will also examine the experiences of
African countries with the wave of democratization in the 1990s and the process of consolidating
democracy in these countries, including the process of democratic reversal that has been a
common phenomenon in many African countries recently.
Learning Objectives:
As noted above, this course serves as an introduction to the major political processes, actors and
institutions of African politics. By the end of the semester, students will:
Understand the historical and contemporary factors that affect chances for the establishment
and survival of democracy in Africa
Be able to draw on scholarly writing on African politics in order to analyze current political
events in Africa and to interpret critically popular news coverage of such events
Be able to apply the general theories that we will have discussed throughout the semester to
evaluate the prospects for democracy to emerge and survive in a particular African country
Course Requirements:
Your course grade (a maximum score of 100) will be based upon the following criteria.
Exams
There will be two exams. A midterm, worth 30 percent of your final grade, will be held during
regular class time (12:45pm-2pm) on Wednesday, October 17. The midterm will cover
material covered in the assigned readings and during class lectures and discussions through the
end of class on Friday, October 12. There will also be a final exam worth 35 percent of your
final grade. The final exam will be cumulative, covering all material presented in readings and
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class lectures/discussion during the semester. The final will be held as scheduled in the final
exam schedule (date to be announced later). Both exams may include a mix of short answer,
multiple choice and essay questions.
Map quiz
There will be a map quiz in-class on Wednesday, September 19 at the beginning of class.
Students who arrive after any student has already turned in the quiz will not be permitted to take
the quiz. Please arrive on time (at least on September 19)! Make-up quizzes will not be given
except in the case of medical complications or other extreme circumstances. Documentation of
illness or other circumstances is required. No make-up quiz will be given without proper
documentation.
Final paper
In addition to the above, there is a required final paper. The final paper will be worth 25 percent
of your final grade and is due by 5pm on Friday, December7. Papers will be graded on
content, i.e. how well the paper fulfills the assignment and the overall quality of ideas and
analysis presented in the paper. The assignment will require that you incorporate course material
into your analysis and your grade will be based on how well you incorporate the assigned course
readings into your paper. Your grade will also be based on more technical aspects of writing
(e.g. proper citation of sources, grammar, typographical errors, etc.) Please read the excerpt of
the university’s policy on Academic Honesty reproduced below.
Midterm 30%
Final exam 35%
Map quiz 10%
Final paper 25%
Class Policies:
Class meetings
Students are expected to come to class prepared and ready to participate in class discussions.
This requires that each student complete all of the assigned readings before every class. Students
are expected to pay attention to lectures and discussions, and also to contribute to debate and
discussion in class. To facilitate the learning process for all of us, electronic devices (laptops,
iPads, cell phones) cannot be used during class for anything other than notetaking. Texting,
emailing, online chatting, tweeting, surfing the web, or other similar behavior are distracting to
me and fellow students and will not be tolerated during class. The first time I see you engaging
in such behavior I will politely ask you to stop. After that, I will ask you to leave class that day.
To facilitate the lecture and discussion, I have posted discussion questions for each topic on
Blackboard. Please review the discussion questions (and think about them) before class.
Also, there is no mandatory attendance policy. I hope that you will attend regularly and look
forward to your participation in class. As a reminder, the university encourages students who are
ill or experiencing flu-like symptoms to stay at home. My lecture notes are not available, but I
encourage each of you to seek out classmates early in the semester with whom you can share
notes should any of you need to miss class.
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Make-up exams
Make-up exams and quizzes will not be given except in the case of medical complications or
other university approved excuses. Documentation is required.
Late papers
Late final papers will be accepted with a penalty. The penalty is as follows: Five points will be
deducted for each day (or part of a day) that the paper is late. E.g. if you turn your paper in at
7pm on December 7, five points will be deducted. Or if you turn your paper in after 5pm on
December 8, ten points will be deducted. No papers will be accepted as email attachments.
Academic Honesty
All George Washington University policies regarding academic honesty will be strictly enforced.
Plagiarism, cheating or academic misconduct in any manner will not be tolerated. All
university procedures, as detailed in the Code of Academic Integrity, will be followed if there is
any violation or suspected violation of the university’s academic honesty policy. Article III,
Section 5 of the Code of Academic Integrity details appropriate sanctions for any violation of the
university’s policy on academic honesty. It states:
The recommended minimum sanction in first offense cases shall be failure of the
assignment in question. The recommended minimum sanction in repeat violation
cases shall be failure of the course. For more serious offenses sanction may be
suspension from the University for a specified, minimum time or expulsion
from the University. Other sanctions may be appropriate for particular cases.
(See http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html#sanctions for more information. Emphasis added.)
Please read, reread, and be sure you fully comprehend the following excerpt from the
university’s Code of Academic Integrity:
Section 1: Definition of Academic Dishonesty
(a) Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting
one's own work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without
appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.
(b) Common examples of academically dishonest behavior include, but are not limited to,
the following:
1) Cheating - intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information,
or study aids in any academic exercise; copying from another student's examination;
submitting work for an in-class examination that has been prepared in advance;
representing material prepared by another as one's own work; submitting the same work in
more than one course without prior permission of both instructors; violating rules governing
administration of examinations; violating any rules relating to academic conduct of a course
or program.
2) Fabrication - intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any data,
information, or citation in an academic exercise.
3) Plagiarism - intentionally representing the words, ideas, or sequence of ideas of
another as one's own in any academic exercise; failure to attribute any of the
following: quotations, paraphrases, or borrowed information.
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4) Falsification and forgery of University academic documents - knowingly making a
false statement, concealing material information, or forging a University official's signature
on any University academic document or record. Such academic documents or records may
include transcripts, add-drop forms, requests for advanced standing, requests to register for
graduate-level courses, etc. (Falsification or forgery of non-academic University documents,
such as financial aid forms, shall be considered a violation of the non-academic student
disciplinary code.)
5) Facilitating academic dishonesty - intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to
help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty.
The above excerpt is from Article 1, Section 1 of the George Washington University’s Code of
Academic Integrity. (Emphasis added.) Please see the GW Office for Academic Integrity’s
website (http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/index.html) for additional information.
I am available and willing to answer any questions about how to properly cite and give credit to
sources used in completing the writing assignment. Also, please visit the Writing Center
(http://www.gwu.edu/~gwriter/) for further assistance on citation or for general questions related
to organizing and writing term papers. Claims of ignorance about how or when to properly cite
sources is not an excuse for academic dishonesty. If you are unsure, ask.
Students with Disabilities
Students with any disability or special learning needs should contact me early in the semester
and also contact Disabilities Support Services (Marvin Center, Suite 242; (202) 994-8250) so
that appropriate accommodations can be made.
Required Materials:
There are three books required for this course. In addition, there are readings available
electronically through Blackboard. The assigned readings are listed in the reading schedule
below, however additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester and will be
announced in class or via email. You are responsible for all of the assigned readings—those
listed in the syllabus and those that may be announced during the semester. In addition to the
scholarly book chapters and articles listed below, relevant newspaper articles and links to
relevant websites may also posted on Blackboard for particular sections of the course.
The required books are:
African Politics and Society: A Mosaic in Transformation, Second Edition. 2004. Peter J.
Schraeder. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. (Abbreviated as ASP below).
Anthills of the Savannah. 1988. Chinua Achebe. New York: Anchor Books.
States and Power in Africa. 2000. Jeffrey Herbst. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
(Abbreviated as SPA below).
As soon as possible, begin reading the novel, Anthills of the Savannah. We will discuss Anthills
on Wednesday, October 31. You will be expected to have read completely and be ready to
discuss the novel in class on October 31.
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**Please note: I reserve the right to change any readings, dates and requirements listed in
this syllabus. You are responsible for any changes made and announced in class or via
email.
Reading Schedule
Section 1: African Political History: An Overview
Course Introduction
Wednesday, August 29
Traditional Political Systems
Friday, August 31
Schraeder, African Politics and Society (ASP), Chapters 1 and 2.
Herbst, States and Power in Africa: Comparative Lessons in Authority and Control (SPA)
Chapters 1 and 2.
Colonialism in Africa
Wednesday, September 5
Schraeder, ASP, Chapter 3
Herbst, SPA, Chapter 3
Hochschild, Adam. 1999. King Leopold’s Ghost. Boston: Mariner Books. Chapters 10 and
11. pp. 150-184.
African Nationalism and Political Independence
Friday, September 7
Schraeder, ASP, Chapter 4
Boahen, Adu A. 1987. African Perspectives on Colonialism. Baltimore, MD: The Johns
Hopkins University Press. Chapters 3 and 4. pp. 58-112.
Section 2: Sources of Political Conflict
Ethnicity and Conflict
Wednesday, September 12 and Friday, September 14
Schraeder, ASP, Chapter 5
Ndegwa, Stephen N. 1997. “Citizenship and Ethnicity: An Examination of Two Transition
Moments in Kenyan Politics.” American Political Science Review. 91 (3) pp. 5899-616.
Bates, Robert. 1986. “Modernization, Ethnic Competition, and the Rationality of Politics in
Contemporary Africa”, in Marion Doro and Newell Stultz (eds.) Governing in Black Africa.
New York: Holmes & Meier. pp. 153-67.
Miguel, Edward. 2004. “Tribe or Nation? Nation Building and Public Goods in Kenya
versus Tanzania. World Politics. 56 (3) pp. 327-362.
Map Quiz
Wednesday, September 19 (beginning of class)
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Case Study: Kenya
Wednesday, September 19
Anderson, David. 2005. Histories of the Hanged: The Dirty War in Kenya and the End of
Empire. New York: W.W. Norton. Chapter 1. pp. 9-53.
Likimani, Muthoni. 1985. Passbook No. 47927: Women and Mau Mau in Kenya.
Basingstoke: MacMillan. “Kariokor Location.” pp75-91.
Friday, September 21
Chege, Michael. 2008. “Kenya Back from the Brink.” Journal of Democracy. 19 (4) pp.
125-139.
Kanyinga, Karuti, and James D. Long. 2012. “The Political Economy of Reforms in Kenya.”
African Studies Review. 55 (1) pp. 31-51.
Religion, Gender, Social Class and Other Identities
Wednesday, September 26
Tripp, Aili. 2003. “Women in Movement Transformations in African Political Landscape.”
International Feminist Journal of Politics. 5 (2) pp. 233-255.
Tamale, Sylvia. 1999. When Hens Begin to Crow: Gender and Parliamentary Politics in
Uganda. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Chapter 2. pp. 41-67.
Gilman, Lisa. 2002. “Purchasing Praise: Women, Dancing and Patronage in Malawi Party
Politics.” Africa Today. 48 (4) pp. 42-64.
Friday, September 28
Readings to be announced.
Section 3: Institutions of African Politics
The State
Wednesday, October 3
Schraeder, ASP, Chapter 8
Herbst, SPA, Chapter 4
Englebert, Pierre. 2000. “The Paradox of African States.” in State Legitimacy and
Development in Africa. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Personal Rule
Friday, October 5 and Wednesday, October 10
Jackson, Robert H. and Carl G. Rosberg. 1984. “Personal Rule: Theory and Practice in
Africa.” Comparative Politics. 16 (4) pp. 421-442.
Orizio, Riccardo. 2002. “Jean-Bedel Bokassa.” in Talk of the Devil: Encounters with Seven
Dictators. New York: Walker and Company. pp. 33-58.
Mobutu: King of Zaire
Friday, October 12
Midterm Exam
Wednesday, October 17
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Civil Society
Friday, October 19
Chabal, Patrick and Jean-Pascal Daloz. 1999. Africa Works: Disorder as Political
Instrument. Oxford: James Curry. Chapter 2. pp. 17-30.
LeVan, A. Carl. 2011. “Questioning Tocqueville in Africa: Continuity and Change in Civil
Society during Nigeria’s Democratization.” Democratization. 18 (1) pp. 135-159.
Obadare, Ebenezer. 2009. “The Uses of Ridicule: Humour, ‘Infrapolitics’, and Civil Society
in Nigeria.” African Affairs. 108 (431) pp. 241-261.
Traditional Institutions Today
Wednesday, October 24
Herbst, SPA, Chapter 6
Englebert, Pierre. 2002. “Born Again Buganda or the Limits of Traditional Resurgence in
Africa.” Journal of Modern African Studies. 40 (3) pp. 345-368.
Military Interventions
Friday, October 26
Schraeder, ASP, Chapter 9
Decalo, Samuel. 1990. Coups and Army Rule in Africa: Motivations and Constraints. Second
Edition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Chapter 1. pp. 1-32.
Forrest, Joshua B. 2005. “Democratization in a Divided Urban Political Culture: Guinea
Bissau” The Fate of Africa’s Democratic Experiments. Leonardo A. Villalón and Peter
VonDoepp (eds.) Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. pp. 246-266.
Political Stability
Wednesday, October 31
Achebe, Chinua. Anthills of the Savannah. Entire book.
Section 4: Elections and Democratization in Africa
Return of Electoral Politics
Friday, November 2
Schraeder, ASP, Chapter 10
Bratton, Michael and Nicolas van de Walle. 1997. Democratic Experiments in Africa.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter Three. pp. 97-127.
Posner, Daniel N. and Daniel J. Young. 2007. “The Institutionalization of Political Power in
Africa.” Journal of Democracy. 18 (3) pp. 126-140.
Semi-Authoritarianism
Wednesday, November 7
van de Walle, Nicolas. 2002. “African’s Range of Regimes: Elections without Democracy.”
Journal of Democracy. 13 (2) pp. 66-80.
Lindberg, Staffan. 2003. “It’s Our Time to Chop: Do Elections in Africa Feed
Neopatrimonialism rather than Counteract it?” Democratization. 10 (2) pp. 121-140.
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Lewis, Peter. 2008. “Growth without Prosperity in Africa.” Journal of Democracy. v.19, no.
4, pp. 95-109.
Consolidating Democracy
Friday, November 9 and Wednesday, November 14
Bratton, Michael, Robert Mattes, and E. Gyimah-Boadi. 2005. “Attitudes to Democracy,”
Chapter Three in Public Opinion, Democracy, and Market Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. pp. 65-96.
Bratton, Michael and Eric Chang. 2007. “State Building and Democratization in Sub-
Saharan Africa: Forwards, Backwards, or Together?” Comparative Political Studies. 39 (9)
pp. 1059-1083.
Lindberg, Staffan. 2006. “The Surprising Significance of African Elections.” Journal of
Democracy. 17 (1) pp. 40-151.
Political Parties and Party Systems
Friday, November 16
van de Walle, Nicolas. 2003. “Presidentialism and clientelism in Africa’s emerging party
systems.” Journal of Modern African Studies. 41 (2) pp. 297-321.
Cheeseman, Nic and Marja Hinfelaar. 2009. “Parties, Platforms, and Political Mobilization;
the Zambian Presidential Election of 2008.” African Affairs. 109 (434) pp. 51-76.
Case Study: Nigeria
Wednesday, November 28
Obi, Cyril. 2011. “Taking Back our Democracy? The trails and travails of Nigerian elections
since 1999.” Democratization. 18 (2) 366-387.
Case Study: Ghana
Friday, November 30
Jockers, Heinz, Dirk Kohnert, and Paul Nugent. 2010. “The Successful Ghana Election of
2008: A Convenient Myth?” Journal of Modern African Studies. 48 (1) pp. 95-115.
Gyimah-Boadi, E. 2009. “Another Step Forward for Ghana.” Journal of Democracy. 20 (2)
pp. 138-152.
Case Study: Senegal
Wednesday, December 5
Mbow, Penda. 2008. “Senegal: the Return of Personalism.” Journal of Democracy. 19 (1) pp.
156-169.
Kelly, Catherine Lena. 2012. “Senegal: What will Turnover Bring?” Journal of Democracy.
23 (3) pp. 121-131.
Review for final exam
Friday, December 7
Final papers due
Friday, December 7, 5pm
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