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Africa in World Politics.

Fall 2015. GOVT 324. Wesleyan University Syllabus. TU/TH: 1:10 – 2:30pm, PAC 422 Asst. Professor Mike Nelson Public Affairs Center 417 860.685.3023 mbnelson@wesleyan.edu http://www.michaelnelson.info Office Hours: Tuesday 11a – 12n Wednesday 2:00 – 3:00pm Or by appointment

Course Website: http://africanworldpolitics.site.wesleyan.edu/ Overview How do Africans—and in particular, African political actors—interact with each other and the rest of the world? What are some of the key global challenges faced by African countries? This course examines Africa's role in world politics beginning with the continent's first modern contacts with Europeans and subsequent colonization. The dominant focus, however, will be on contemporary patterns of global politics, considering how African political actors relate to each other and to the rest of the world--especially China, Europe, and the United States. Course Objectives By the end of this course… ! You will understand and be able to evaluate the impact of the rest of the world on Africa as well as Africa’s impact on the rest

of the world ! You will consider Africa’s roles in world politics both from the perspectives of outside actors—such as the United States—and

from a variety of African perspectives ! You will be able to think and argue critically about issues in the world politics of Africa and convey your thoughts in written

form. The skills we stress in this class—critical thinking, analytical reading, and writing—will be important no matter what you do

Schedule and General Directions General Directions

• 1. This course will use the following book, available for purchase in the student bookstore: • M Wrong, I Didn’t Do It For You • 2. We also will be reading a book manuscript that I am actively writing, West Africa’s International Relations. That will be

available online via the course website. • 3. A recommended text (completely optional) is: • Gordon = Gordon, April A. and Donald L. Gordon (eds.), 2012 Fifth Edition. Understanding Contemporary Africa. • 3. All other texts are available via hyperlink. Please note that many, if not all, are only available to students via login. • 4. This is a reading-intensive course. All readings should be read in the order presented. That is also their order of priority. • 5. This schedule is subject to change. • 6. Please upload all assignments, except blog posts, to Turnitin.com (instructions to follow). • I recommend you keep up with African news and scholarship. Some great sources include: The Economist, BBC News Online,

The Financial Times, Reuters (has a great Africa website)

“The darkest thing about Africa has always been our ignorance of it”

– George Kimble “People go to Africa and confirm what they already have in their heads and so they fail to see what is there in front of them. This is what people have come to expect. It's not viewed as a serious continent. It's a place of strange, bizarre and illogical things, where people don't do what common sense demands.”

- Chinua Achebe  

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• Academic: Journal of Modern African Studies • Think Tanks: • List of African Think Tanks • South African Institute of International Affairs • IMANI Center for Policy & Education • African Economic Research Consortium • Nigerian Institute of International Affairs • Institute for Security Studies (South Africa) • Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa • Institute of Economic Affairs, Kenya • Center for Global Development • Chatham House • ODI • Institute of Development Studies • Wilson Center • Brookings • Council on Foreign Relations • Blogs: • http://developmentdrums.org/ • http://chrisblattman.blogspot.com/ • http://africanarguments.org/ • http://www.african-politics.com/ • http://texasinafrica.blogspot.com/ • __________________________________________________________________

Class 1 Introduction to Africa, Locating Africa in World Politics.

• Is Afr i ca d i f f e r en t f rom the r e s t o f the wor ld? What are some o f the cha l l enges Afr i ca poses to in t ernat iona l r e la t ions s cho lars?

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Introductions • Readings : • Miguel, Edward. 2008. “New Democracy Forum: Is it Africa’s Turn?”. Boston Review. (May/June). Read pages 1 – 12; skim the

rest based on your own interest. • Nelson. Preface. West Africa’s International Relations • Recommended : • Gordon. Chapters 1 – 3. • __________________________________________________________________

Class 2 Africa’ Pre-Colonial International Relations.

• Were there international relations between African polities prior to the colonial period? With the rest of the world? • Course Act iv i t i e s : (1) Sign-up for blog responsibilities; (2) Lecture/Discussion • Readings : • Gennaioli, N, and I Rainer. 2007. The modern impact of precolonial centralization in Africa. Journal of Economic Growth.

See “Statistics” under recommended readings.” • Smith, Robert. 1973. “Peace and Palaver: International Relations in Pre-Colonial West Africa.” The Journal of African History.

14(4). 599 – 621. • Englebert, P. 2000. Pre-Colonial Institutions, Post-Colonial States, and Economic Development in Tropical Africa.

Political Research Quarterly. 53(1). 7. • Methods Reading (Strong ly Recommended) : • User’s Guide to Political Science. “Statistics.” The section on reading regression results may be helpful in interpreting the Gennaioli and

Englebert readings. • Recommended : • Schraeder, Peter. 2000. “Chapter 4: Politics and Economics of the Precolonial Independence Era (Prior to 1884)” in

African Politics and Society: A Mosaic in Transformation (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s). • Jeffrey Herbst, Chapter 2 “Power and Space in Precolonial Africa” from States and Power in Africa (Princeton: Princeton

University Press, 2000).

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• __________________________________________________________________ Class 3 Africa’s Colonial Period

• Does Africa’s colonial heritage shape its international relations today? What was the nature of the colonial period? How did African colonies relate to each other and the rest of the world? How did their relationships with colonial masters affect their foreign policies after independence?

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings : • Nelson. Chapters 1-2. West Africa’s International Relations

o Chapter 1, West Africa’s International Relations o Chapter 2, Empires and Villages

• Nunn, Nathan. 2007. “Historical legacies: A model linking Africa’s past to its current underdevelopment.” Journal of Development Economics. 83: 157 – 175.

• Click here to provide feedback on Chapters 1 and 2. • Recommended :

o User’s Guide to Political Science. “The Research Question” for the class assignment o Jeffrey Herbst, Chapter 3 “The Europeans and the African Problem” from States and Power in Africa (Princeton:

Princeton University Press, 2000). o Begin reading Wrong.

• Methods Reading : o User’s Guide to Political Science. “Game Theory and Models.“ for interpreting the Nunn reading

• _____________________________________________________________________________________ Class 4 Eritrea and the colonial period; African Independence

• What is the significance of African interdependence for its international relations? For the international community more generally? • * Journal 1 . Compare the impacts of pre-colonial and colonial legacies for your country’s politics and foreign

relations with those of Eritrea. Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison.

• Course Act iv i t i e s :Lecture/Discussion • Readings :

! Wrong. Read Foreword and Chapters 1 – 12. • Recommended :

! Herbst. Chapter 4, “The Political Kingdom in Independent Africa.” ! McKeon, Nora. 1966. “The African States and the OAU.” International Affairs, 42 (3), pages 390 – 409. ! Nkrumah, Kwame. “Introduction.”Africa Must Unite. ! Nugent, Paul. 2004. “A Profile of Africa at Independence.” “Section 2.3. Variations in political

geography.” In Africa Since Independence. Read pages: 65 – 70. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 5 Finishing the path to Eritrean Independence

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion. • Readings :

! FINISH reading Wrong’s I Didn’t Do It For You. ! http://www.michelawrong.com/article-2-how-double-dealing-built-a-pariah-state-by-michela-

wrong.html • Recommended :

! Clapham, Christopher. Chapter 5. “The Foreign Policies of Ethiopia and Eritrea,” in African Foreign Policies.

! Iyob, Ruth. 2000. “The Ethiopian-Eritrean Conflict: diasporic vs. hegemonic states in the Horn of Africa, 1991-2000.” The Journal of Modern African Studies. 38 (4).

• _____________________________________________________________________________________ Class 6

• DUE TODAY: Research description • Click here to provide feedback on Chapters 1 and 2. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 7 Neo-patrimonialism & the African State

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion. Readings :

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! Thies, Cameron G. 2009. National design and state building in sub-saharan africa. World Politics 61 (4): 623-69.

! Taylor, Ian, & Paul D Williams. 2008. “Political culture, state elites and regional security in West Africa.” Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 26(2), 137–149.

• Recommended : ! Review: Gordon. Pages 71 – 108. ! Lemarchand, R. 1972. “Political Clientelism and Ethnicity in Tropical Africa: Competing Solidarities in

Nation-Building.” American Political Science Review, 66(1), 68-90. ! Pitcher, A, MH Moran, and M Johnston. 2009. “Rethinking Patrimonialism and Neopatrimonialism in

Africa.” African Studies Review. 52(1). 125-156. ! Hyden, Goran. 2006. “Chapter 4: The Economy of Affection” and “Chapter 5: Big Man Rule” in

African Politics in Comparative Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press). • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 8 The African State System & African Foreign Policy-Making

• How do African States develop their foreign policies? What are some of the factors that African states take into account in their foreign policy decision-making?

• * Journal 2. Describe the current political institutions and political culture of your country. Is there evidence of neo-patrimonialism? How might the political institutions and political culture affect your country’s foreign policy and international relations? Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings :

! Nelson. Excerpts from West Africa’s International Relations • Read ONE of the fo l lowing :

! Adibe, Clement A. Chapter 2. “Foreign Policy Decisionmaking in Anglophone West Africa,” in African Foreign Policies: Power and Process

! Schraeder, Peter J. Chapter 3. “New Directions in Francophone West African Foreign Policies,” in African Foreign Policies: Power and Process

• Recommended : ! Warner, Carolyn M. 2001. The rise of the state system in Africa. Review of International Studies. 27. 65-89. ! Lemke, Douglas. 2003. “African Lessons for International Relations Research.”World Politics. ! Anton du Plessis. 2002. Excerpt from Chapter 6 “Analysing and evaluating foreign policy” from Power,

Wealth and Global Equity edited by Patrick J. McGowan and Phlip Nel. ! Clark, John F. Chapter 6. “Realism, Neo-Realism and Africa’s International Relations in the Post-Cold

War Era,” in Africa’s Challenge to International Relations Theory. ! Nkiwane, Tandeka C. 2001. “Africa and International Relations: Regional Lessons for a Global

Discourse.” International Political Science Review. 22 (3). 279-290. ! Malaquias, Assis. 2001. “Reformulating International Relations Theory: African Insights and Challenges,”

Africa’s Challenge to International Relations Theory. ! Ayoob, Mohammed. 1998. Chapter Two. “Subaltern Realism: International Relations Theory Meets the

third World,” in International Relations Theory and the Third World (New York: St. Martin’s Press). • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 9 African International Relations: The case of South Africa

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings :

! Alexandroff, Alan S. 2015. South Africa in a Complex Global Order: How and Where to Fit In? South African Journal of International Affairs, 22 (2), 249-268.

! Qobo, Mzukisi, & Memory Dube. 2015. South Africa’s Foreign Economic Strategies in a Changing Global System. South African Journal of International Affairs, 22 (2), 145-164.

! Nieuwkerk, Anthoni van. 2012. South Africa and Peacekeeping in Africa. African Security, 5 (1), 44–62. • Recommended :

! van der Westhuizen, Janis. 2009. “Has South Africa lost its soft power?” posted in The Argument, Foreign Policy.

! Garth le Pere & Anthoni van Nieuwkerk. 2002. Chapter 14. “The evolution of South Africa’s foreign policy, 1994-2000” from Power, Wealth and Global Equity edited by Patrick J. McGowan and Phlip Nel.

! Alden, Chris and Garth le Pere. 2010. “Strategic Posture Review: South Africa.” World Politics Review. 2010-05-19.

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! Alden, Chris and Miles Soko. 2005. “South Africa’s economic relations with Africa: hegemony and its discontents.”

• ______________________________________________________________________________________ Class 10 The United States and Africa

• * Journal 3 . Discuss United States relations with your country. • Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings :

! The White House. 2012. U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa ! McCaskie, Tom C. 2008. “The United States, Ghana and Oil: Global and Local Perspectives.” African

Affairs. ! van de Walle, Nicolas. 2010. “US Policy Towards Africa: The Bush Legacy and the Obama

Administration.” African Affairs. ! Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges. 2013. Implications of the 2012 U.S. Election for U.S. Policy in Africa’s

Great Lakes Region. African Studies Review, 56 (2), 185-191. ! Zeleza, Paul Tiyambe. 2013. Obama’s Africa Policy: The Limits of Symbolic Power. African Studies

Review, 56 (2), 165-178. ! Samatar, Abdi Ismail. 2013. Africa: Beware of Obama’s Second Term. African Studies Review, 56 (2),

179-183. • Recommended :

! Africa Action. Africa Policy Outlook 2010. ! AFRICOM ! US AID Africa ! US State Department Bureau of African Affairs ! Rothchild, Donald. Here

• ______________________________________________________________________________________ Class 11

• Catch-up Day. Keep reading items from the previous day! • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 12 Africa in the Global Economy

• Is Africa peripheral to the global economy? What does that mean? Why is most of Africa poor? • Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings :

! Hårsmar, Mats. 2014. Structural improvements in sub-saharan economies. South African Journal of International Affairs 21 (1): 69-88.

! ADB/OECD. “African Economic Outlook” and “Countries”. Follow links and read in the “Outlook” section. Pick one or two countries to focus on in the “Countries” section.

• Recommended : • Gordon. Chapter 5. “The Economies of Africa.” • McKinsey Company. “Lions on the move: The progress and potential of African economies.” June 2010. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 13: Narrative Description Due Africa in Global Governance

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings :

! Nelson, Michael. forthcoming. African Coalitions in Global Economic Governance. Focus on Chapter 1, Chapter 3, and pages 256 – 269 (on cotton).

• Recommended : ! Murithi, Timothy. 2010. “The African Union as an International Actor.” ! Bariagaber, Assefaw. 2010. “The Evolving UN-Africa Relations Since the End of the Cold War.” ! Nugent, Paul. 2004. Chapter 8. “Invasion of the Acronyms: SAPs, AIDS and the NGO Takeover.” In

Africa Since Independence. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 14 Foreign Aid

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• * Journal 4 . Does your country receive foreign aid? From whom? Relate your country’s experiences with economic development to our readings on foreign aid. Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison.

• Is foreign aid a good thing for Africa? • Readings :

! Moss, Todd. “Chapter 8. The International Aid System.” ! Moyo, Dambisa. “1. The Myth of Aid” (pages 3 – 11); “4. The Silent Killer of Growth”. ! USAID. http://www.usaid.gov/where-we-work/africa. (explore the website a little)

• Recommended : ! Duncan Green on Dambisa Moyo (blog post) ! Lancaster, Carol. 1999. “Chapter 3. Aid and Development in Africa.” In Aid to Africa: So Much to Do, So

Little Done. ! Sachs, Jeffrey D. et al. Ending Africa’s Poverty Trap. ! Sachs, Jeffrey D. “How Aid Can Work” December 21, 2006. The New York Review of Books. Available at

http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/File/about/director/documents/NYRB-December212006-HowAidCanWork.pdf

! Kevane, Michael. (2004). “Chapter 2: Explaining Underdevelopment in Africa” in Women and Development in Africa: How Gender Works, pp. 7-28.

! Gordon. Chapter 10, “Women and Development” by April A. Gordon. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 15 • More Foreign Aid • • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 16 • DUE TODAY: Group Draft Outline

Resource Politics • Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings :

! Leonard, David and Scott Strauss. Africa’s Stalled Development. Excerpt. Focus especially on Chapter 4 pages 63 – 75.

! Watts, M. 2004. Resource curse? governmentality, oil and power in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Geopolitics. 9(1). 50-80.

• Recommended : ! Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson. 2003. Chapter 4. An African Success Story:

Botswana. In In Search of Prosperity: Analytic Narratives on Economic Growth, ed. Dani Rodrik. 80-122. Princeton University Press.

! Jedrzej George and Manuel Paulo. 2007. “A New Scramble for African Oil? Historical, Political, and Business Perspectives.” African Affairs, 106/423, 229-251.

! Ross, ML. 2003. Oil, Drugs, and Diamonds: The Varying Roles of Natural Resources in Civil War. In The Political Economy of Armed Conflict–Beyond Greed and Grievance, eds. Karen Ballentine, and Jake Sherman.

• ______________________________________________________________________________________ Class 17 Conflicts and Conflict Management (I)

• More changes are coming to this day’s readings. • Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion. • * Journal 5 . Discuss and analyze any violent conflicts involving your country (civil or interstate). Consider also the roles

played by regional and international actors. Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison.

• Readings : ! Reyntjens, Filip. 2005. The privatisation and criminalisation of public space in the geopolitics of the

Great Lakes region. Journal of Modern African Studies. 43 (4). 587 – 607. ! Autesserre, Séverine. 2012. Dangerous tales: Dominant narratives on the Congo and their unintended

consequences. African Affairs, 111(443), 202-222. • Highly Recommended :

! Reuters AlertNet. “Congo (DR) conflict” • Recommended :

! Autesserre, S. 2008. “The Trouble With Congo.” Foreign Affairs.

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! GlobalSecurity.org “Congo War” ! French, Howard. 2005. Selections from A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa. Chapters

10 and 11 may be especially useful. ! Taylor, Ian. 2003. “Conflict in Central Africa: Clandestine Networks & Regional/Global

Configurations.” Review of African Political Economy. 95: 45 – 55. ! Hyden, Goran. 2006. “Chapter 9: Ethnicity and Conlict” in African Politics in Comparative Perspective (New

York: Cambridge University Press). ! Olonisakin, Funmi. Chapter 13. “Conflict and conflict resolution in Africa” from Power, Wealth and

Global Equity edited by Patrick J. McGowan and Phlip Nel. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 18 Conflicts and Conflict Management (II)

• More changes are coming to this day’s readings. • Readings :

! Froitzheim, M, F Söderbaum, & I Taylor. 2011. The Limits of the EU as a Peace and Security Actor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africa Spectrum, 45, 70.

! Arieff, Alexis, Rhoda Margesson, Marjorie Ann Browne, & Matthew C. Weed. 2010. International Criminal Court Cases in Africa: Status and Policy Issues. Congressional Research Service.

• Highly Recommended : ! Akande, Dapo et al. 2010. “Position Paper: An African expert study on the African Union concerns

about Article 16 of the Rome Statute of the ICC.” Institute for Security Studies. ! Keppler, Elise. 2012. Managing Setbacks for the International Criminal Court in Africa. Journal of

African Law, 56(01), 1-14. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 19 • DUE TODAY: Indiv idual Rough Draf t . Use turnitin.com

Europe and Africa • Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings :

! Taylor, Ian. Chapters 2 and 3. • Recommended :

! Chafer, Tony. 2002. “Franco-African Relations: No Longer So Exceptional?” African Affairs, 101, pages 343-363.

! European Commission External Relations. “The EU’s relations with Africa.” ! Europafrica.net ! Leonard, David K. 2008. “The US, France and military roles in the African ‘gap’.” Review of International

Political Economy. 15 (2). 314 – 331. ! Stevens, Christopher. 2006. “The EU, Africa and Economic Partnership Agreements: unintended

consequences of policy leverage.” Journal of Modern African Studies. 44 (3). 441 – 458. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 20 China, the Global South, and Africa

• * Journal 6 . Which foreign countries matter most to your country? How and why? Compare your country’s foreign relations with at least three countries, including China. Remember that you can react as well to the readings relevant to this topic and use other countries’ experiences as a point of comparison.

• Readings : ! Nelson. Chapter 8. West Africa’s New Partners. ! Lagerkvist, J., & Jonsson, G. 2011. Occasional Papers: Vol. 5. Foreign aid, trade and development: The

strategic presence of china, japan and korea in sub-saharan africa. Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

• Recommended ! Gadzala, Aleksandra and Marek Hanusch. 2010. ” African Perspectives on China-Africa: Gauging

Popular Perceptions and their Economic and Political Determinants”. Afrobarometer. ! Corkin, L. 2011. Making the Most of Commodities Programme (MMCP) Discussion Paper No. 2:

Chinese construction companies in angola: A local linkages perspective. University of Cape Town and Open University.

! Brautigam, D. 2011. Chinese development aid in africa: What, where, why, and how much? In Rising china: Global challenges and opportunities. (pp. 203-22). Canberra: Australia National University.

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! Taylor, Ian. 2008. Sino-African Relations and the Problem of Human Rights. African Affairs. 107/426. 64 – 86.

! Ricardo Soares de Oliveira. 2008. Chapter 4 “Making Sense of Chinese Oil Investment in Africa” in China Returns to Africa edited by Chris Alden, Daniel Large, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.

! Gregor Dobler. 2008. Chapter 12. “Solidarity, Xenophobia and The Regulation of Chinese Businesses in Namibia.” in China Returns to Africa edited by Chris Alden, Daniel Large, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.

! Gaye, Adama. 2008. Chapter 6. “China in Africa: After the Gun and the Bible: A West African Perspective” from China Returns to Africa edited by Christopher Alden, Daniel Large, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.

! Manuel Ennes Ferreira. 2008. Chapter 15. “China in Angola: Just a Passion for Oil?” in China Returns to Africa edited by Chris Alden, Daniel Large, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.

• ______________________________________________________________________________________ Class 21 Due Today: Group Rough Draft, email to professor More: The World and Africa; Peer Editing

• Readings : • Hsueh, Roselyn and Michael Nelson. “Who wins? China wires Africa.” • Gadzala, Aleksandra and Marek Hanusch. 2010. ” African Perspectives on China-Africa: Gauging Popular Perceptions and

their Economic and Political Determinants”. Afrobarometer. • Recommended : • “User’s Guide to Political Science: Writing” • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 22 Africa and the Global Politics of Health

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Benton, Adia, & Kim Yi Dionne. 2015. International Political Economy and the 2014 West African Ebola Outbreak. Afr.

Stud. Rev., 58 (01), 223-236. • Taylor, Ian. 2015. China’s Response to the Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa. The Round Table, 104 (1), 41-54. • Nelson, Michael. forthcoming. African Coalitions in Global Economic Governance. Book excerpts from Chapter 6, especially

pages 219 – 229. • Recommended ( ebo la) : • Wilkinson, A., & M. Leach. 2014. Briefing: Ebola-myths, Realities, and Structural Violence. African Affairs, 114 (454),

136-148. • Peruse the website, Ebola Deeply • Gostin, Lawrence O, Eric A Friedman, & Daniel Hougendobler. 2015. An O’Niell Institute Briefing Paper: Ebola, the

World Health Organization, and Beyond: Toward a Framework for Global Health Security. O’Neill Institute Briefing Paper, No. 11.

• Recommended (genera l ) • Feldbaum, Harley, Kelley Lee, and Joshua Michaud. 2010. Global health and foreign policy. Epidemiol Rev 32 (1): 82-92. • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 23 Class Research Presentations

• Instructions for Panel Presentations. Presentations should last 25 minutes. There will then be 15 minutes of time for Q&A. Presentations should stress the overarching themes you all find in your work. The point is to view this as a workshop and an opportunity to get feedback from your colleagues. You should then be able to incorporate some of that feedback into the final drafts.

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Presentations • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 24 Class Research Presentations

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Presentations • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 25 The Environment: Water

• Course Act iv i t i e s : Lecture/Discussion • Readings : • Hensengerth. “Chinese hydropower companies and environmental norms in countries of the global South…”

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• UNEP. 2005. Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Africa. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme. Focus on Chapter 2; skim the rest if you have the time

• Recommended : • Gordon. Chapter 8, “Africa’s Environmental Problems” by Julius E. Nyang’oro. • Bosshard, Peter. 2008. “China’s Environmental Footprint in Africa”. SAIIA China in Africa Policy Briefing. • UNEP. 2005. Facing the Facts: Assessing the Vulnerability of Africa’s Water Resources to Environmental Change. Nairobi: UNEP. • van Edig, Annette, Nick van de Giessen, Mark Andreini and Wolfram Laube. “Transboundary, institutional, and legal

aspects of the Water Resources Commission in Ghana.” • ______________________________________________________________________________________

Class 26 LAST DAY OF CLASS → Future Directions for Africa

• * Journal 7 . Based on what you have discovered this term, how would you advise your country’s leaders in their engagement with the world?

• Part 1: Finish presentations, if necessary. Part 2: What have we learned? What are some of the likely future scenarios for political relationships within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world?

• Readings : • Nelson. Chapter 9. • Fisher, Max. The amazing, surprising, Africa-driven demographic future of the Earth, in 9 charts. Washington Post, July 16,

2013. • Herbst, Jeffrey and Greg Mills. Africa in 2020: Three Scenarios for the Future. Brenthurst Discussion Papers, 2/2006. • Recommended : • Gordon. Chapter 13, “Trends and Prospects” • ______________________________________________________________________________________

end of classes ______________________________________________________________________________________ no final exam ____________________________________________________________________________________

final research projects due Saturday, December 19 @ 2 pm email entire group project to professor as a single file ______________________________________________________________________________________ individual assessment of group project due December 19 @ 5pm email to professor. Course Assignments & Grading Plan Overview

• There are no exams. • Coursework will be weighted as follows:

1. Classroom Engagement: 15 pts. 2. Online Journal: 25 pts. 3. Research Paper: 60 pts. Total: 100 pts.

• The Grading Scale I will be using the following grading scale in this course:

98-100 A+ 94-97 A 90-93 A- 87-89 B+

84-86 B 80-83 B- 77-79 C+ 74-76 C

70 – 73 C- 69/below D 59/below F

• Note on Late Assignments: Late assignments will be graded down 5 percent for each day late, to a maximum of 50% off the credit for the assignment. No matter how late an assignment is, it will always be worth submitting (you can always get up to 50% credit).

1. Classroom Engagement: Participation and Attendance (15%) • Purpose: To make the course a more enjoyable and enriching experience for everyone; To be certain that you are engaging course material

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• This course requires not only attendance but also active participation. This entails doing the readings before class, thinking critically about them and the topics we are discussing. Active participation can significantly help your grade in the course, non-participation can significantly lower your grade, and non-attendance WILL significantly lower your grade.

Attendance and active participation 1. You must attend class. Think of it as if you are a pilot learning to fly. You have to put in a number of hours in the cockpit

to qualify. 2. You must be active in class. This can take a variety of forms, including: speaking in class, asking questions, emailing me

questions, and extra participation on the course blog. 3. You can miss two classes without any serious consequence. If you miss more than 5 classes you will receive no

participation credit. 4. You must meet me at my office hours at least once.

2. Online Journal: Country Journals, News and Reading Posts (25%) • Purpose: a substitute for exams; a means for students to engage and critically reflect on course material; an incentive for students to stay on track

with course readings and material; a means of informing the professor of what students find interesting (or not) within the course material; a means for students to communicate with each other about the course material.

1. Sign-in using your name so that I can recognize who is posting 2. The prompts for the country posts are provided on the schedule page. 3. “Tag” your posts using the appropriate categories 4. Your posts are due the MIDNIGHT PRIOR to class.

A. Country Posts (7) • You will develop a country expertise. At the beginning of the course you will be assigned a country in Africa. For that

country, you will be asked to keep an online journal in which you will react to the topic and readings we are covering in a given week as it relates to your country. You will also be asked to write about current events in your country. So, for instance, if we are covering the impact of colonialism on Sub-Saharan Africa, you will be asked to write an analysis of how colonialism has affected your country. The specific topics for you to address will be under each section in the syllabus. Likewise, you will be called upon in class to provide input on these topics as it relates to your country. You will become the class expert for your country. You will post these journal items in a course blog that we all share.

1. There will be 7 country posts. 2. Add the category “Countries” to the post 3. It is better to provide specific examples than to cover many subjects in broad terms. 4. The topics are provided on the schedule course page, listed on the day they are due. 5. LENGTH OF EACH POST: 500 words.

B. Reading Posts (1) • You must comment on readings for ONE day of class. It can be any day of the term. It may overlap with other students.

Your comments should be original reflections on and/or critiques of the readings, not summaries. 1. There will be 1 reading post. 2. Add the category “Readings” to the post 3. LENGTH OF EACH POST: 500 words.

C. News Posts (1) • You must write ONE post which includes links to news items that are relevant to the course. 1. There will be 1 news post. 2. Add the category “News” to the post 3. LENGTH OF EACH POST: could be 1 line, could be 300 lines.

D. Assessment • The country journal and reading posts will be assessed as a whole at the end of the semester. However, at mid-semester

I will provide a provisional grade on the body of your journal posts up to that point in time. The news post will simply be assessed on the basis of whether or not it was completed.

• General Criteria for the Country Journal and Reading Posts: • A: Excellent in all or nearly all aspects. Posts are marked by creativity and originality. The interest of the reader is engaged

by the ideas and presentation. Reading posts do not summarize. Country posts demonstrate some level of research that goes beyond the material provided in class. (Note: I do not expect extensive research, but I do expect a moderate degree of research that goes beyond Wikepedia.) All posts consistently meet this criteria.

• B: A “B- range” grade may indicate that not all posts consistently met the criteria for an “A”. Or, that the posts were consistently below the “A” level. Such posts may be technically competent with occasional lapses. You are either significantly over OR under the word limit on a regular basis.

• C: A “C-range” grade indicates that many or all posts did not meet the criteria for an “A”. These may be competent posts, but are obvious. The reading post may largely summarize, rather than evaluate, reflect, or critique the readings. The country posts may never use outside sources. Writing may be sloppy.

• etc. 3. Research Project (60%)

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• Purpose: to encourage critical thinking about a focused research question; to encourage practice at social science research; to further develop writing skills; to encourage practice at working with groups; an opportunity for students to be teachers to each other; an opportunity for students to express themselves creatively; to allow students to do deeper research on an aspect of international relations they find interesting; an opportunity for students to improve on public speaking skills

• See THIS PAGE. 4. Chronological List of All Assignments

• Class #. Date. Assignment. 4. September 17. Blog Post 6. September 24: Individual research description due 8. October 1. Blog Post 10. October 8. Blog Post 13. October 20: narrative description of project with bibliography 14. October 22: Blog Post. 16. November 3: group draft outline 17. November 5. Blog Post. 19. November 12: individual rough draft 20. November 17. Blog Post 21. November 19: group rough draft 22 – 25. November 24 – December 8. presentations 26. December 10. Blog Post. Finals. December 19. final draft and response.

Project Guidelines Research Project (60% of total grade).

• As a class you will be divided into several groups I will group you according to general subjects, based on your individual research projects. Examples of grouping may include: “China in Africa”, or “the International Dimensions of Development in Africa”. Each group will undertake a different large-scale research project. You will be graded both for your individual effort and for the group’s effort. The final result of each project should resemble a book with at least 2 general parts:

• Your individual research papers. This will be the bulk of the printed manuscript • One or two chapters written collectively that summarize and react to your individual research papers. This could take a

variety of forms including one or both of the following: o An Introduction to the book o A Conclusion to the book

• Optional: You could additionally include a brief Executive Summary for the project. Part One: Individual Requirements for the Research Paper (40%) Indiv idual Due Dates

• Length: 25 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Research Description Due: September 24 Narrative Description of Project, with partial bibliography: October 20 Rough Draft Due: November 12 Final Draft is Due as Part of Entire Group Project: December 19 @ 2 pm Individual Assessment of Group Project: December 19 @ 5 pm

You have 2 options • See the User’s Guide to Political Science: “Writing a Class Research Paper”, “The Research Question”, and “Policy Paper”. • Option 1: Research Paper.

You choose a question related to the course and seek to answer it. For instance, you might want to answer the following question: “Why did the United States fail to intervene during the Rwandan genocide?”

• A research paper, then, is focused on explanation. • Option 2: Policy Paper.

You choose a question about the appropriate foreign policy for a country. For instance, you might want to answer the following question: “Should the United States send troops to stop the violence in Darfur?”

• A policy paper, then, is focused on prescription. Research Description Directions

• See User’s Guide to Political Science, “Research Proposal or Prospectus” • You will prepare a one-page description of your proposed research question. The question should be substantively

interesting and relevant. Moreover, it should be a question that can be answered using evidence, given the time and resource constraints of the course. You should be prepared to discuss your question during the class session.

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• 1. 1 to 1½ pages. 2. Include the following information:

• State the main research or policy question you plan to answer. This must be either the title or the first sentence. • Briefly explain why it is important. • Briefly summarize possible alternative answers to the question. • List 2 sources you might use • 3. Email document to professor.

4. Due September 24, PRIOR to class. Narrative Description

• You will prepare a 3 – 5 page narrative description of the evidence you have gathered. This should include a clear specification of the dependent variable you wish to explain. It should highlight what is puzzling about the evidence you observe and what data supports your claim. A strong narrative description will conclude with some thoughts about the factors that might explain the patterns you have found.

• 3 – 5 pages, not including bibliography • Define dependent variable/outcome/phenomenon of interest. • Discuss evidence and possible explanations. • Bibliography should include at least 7 sources. • Please email one copy to the professor. • Bring 1 copy to class • Due October 20 PRIOR to class

Rough Draft Directions • See User’s Guide to Political Science, “Outline and Structure” • 1. Email the professor one copy.

2. Bring 1 copy to class for peer editing. 3. Due November 12 PRIOR to class.

Final Individual Paper • Due as Part Of Group Project, December 19 @ 2 pm.

Assessment of Group Effort Directions (part of group project grade) • 1. 1 – 2 pages

2. Assess own contribution to the group effort 3. Assess the contributions of other group members 4. React to your group’s overall project and presentation. 5. Please email to the professor. 6. Due December 19 @ 5 pm

General Paper Guidelines • The paper should address a question about Africa in world politics. • In writing the paper, you must do the following things: • Clearly articulate a central question. Your research question must be either the title or the first sentence. • Clearly articulate your answer to the question. These are argumentative papers. • Explain the significance of the question. • Support your answer. • Evaluate alternative answers. • Use at least 8 outside sources (see note on sources below) • Use at least 1 source from class readings. • Use concepts from the course. For example: patrimonialism, norms, liberal peace theory • Include a reference section (Does not count as part of your page count.) • Sources: • As appropriate, strive to include at least one of each of the following sources: • Books • Academic Journals (articles from political science or public policy journals are likely to be most relevant) • Newspapers (it is suggested that you stick to major national papers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and

Wall Street Journal) or Magazines (again, use major magazines, such as Newsweek or The Economist) • Primary sources: Government documents, for instance. • DO NOT use these sources: • Wikipedia • Web content which is not from one of the suggested published sources listed above

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• If you have a question about a source, just ask! • How to cite your sources:

You must use in-text parenthetical citations according to the author-date system described by the Chicago Manual of Style. Directions on citations can be found here: http://library.williams.edu/citing/styles/chicago2.php

Part Two: Group Project (20%) Group Due Dates

• Group Draft Outline: November 3 Group Rough Draft: November 19 Group Presentation: Date varies; during last weeks of class. Group Final Draft: December 19 @ 2 pm

Written Work: Introduction OR Conclusion (10%) • 1. 10 pages minimum

2. Grade includes completion of a draft outline AND rough draft. 3. Should include the following information, at a minimum:

• Statement of why the overall project/issue is important • Very brief (paragraph or less) summaries of the individual chapters • Discussion of how the individual chapters relate to each other that may include:

o Statements of key overall findings o Analysis of similarities and differences among the chapters o Suggestion for possible future directions for research.

Group Presentation (10%) 1. Will last no more than 40 MINUTES. 2. Purposes:

1. Practice at public speaking 2. Chance to get feedback from classmates before finalizing final draft of the project 3. Chance for us to learn from each other

Part Three: Other General Information

• Grading • The Criteria I Use In Grading Papers • Note on Late Assignments: • Late papers will be graded down 5 points for each day late, to a maximum of 50% credit for the assignment. No matter

how late a paper is, it will always be worth submitting (you will always have an opportunity to get at least 50% credit). Part Four: Advice

• For advice on research and writing, please confer with our new “User’s Guide to Political Science” The Rules of the Game

1. I reserve the right to make new rules and changes to the course. 2. Class will start on time. If you are more than 10 minutes late you will be marked as absent. 3. No talking during class, no reading material during class, and no inappropriate use of electronic equipment (cell phones,

laptops, etc.) during class. 4. Use of laptops in class is a privilege. I reserve the right to ban them at any time. 5. Divers i ty in d i s cuss ion . Throughout the course of the semester, we will be addressing a variety of issues on which people

will have strong and diverse opinions. It is critical that we respect one another’s thoughts, and address our comments at the ideas, not the person. Our class is not a forum for demeaning or threatening language

6. Academic Integr i ty . 1. I assume all assignments and activities in the class are governed by the university’s honor code which I regard to

be unnecessary to state (come on, this is common sense!), but which I will for legal reasons. 2. Plagiarism and Cheating. Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. I feel especially strong about this when it

comes to student writing. Please note that the consequences for any kind of cheating or plagiarism can result in an “F” for the class and possibly other actions by the university.

3. Wesleyan’s policies can be found online at: http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/studenthandbook/standardsregulations/studentconduct.html

4. If you have any questions about the appropriate way to use or cite a source, please do not hesitate to ask me before you hand in your paper.

Disability-Related Accommodations

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• It is the policy of Wesleyan University to provide reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities. Students, however, are responsible for registering with Disabilities Services, in addition to making requests know to me in a timely manner.If you require accommodations in this class, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. The procedures for registering with Disabilities Services can be found at www.wesleyan.edu/deans/disability-students.html