UCLA DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE POLITICAL SCIENCE 151A: GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF AFRICA

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1 UCLA DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE POLITICAL SCIENCE 151A: GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF AFRICA Prof. Daniel Posner 3248 Bunche Hall Tues, Thurs: 11am-12:15pm (310) Haines 220 Office Hours: Thurs, 1-3pm The purpose of this course is to introduce students to some of the major issues, themes and theories in the politics of contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa. The course begins by reviewing the nature and legacies of colonial rule and the politics of independence. From there, we move to the character of the African state, highlighting its personalism, its clientelism, and its simultaneous weakness and strength. Then, the course turns to the role of ethnicity in politics and society. From there, we explore the reasons for the region s economic stagnation during the 1980s and early 1990s and the domestic and international politics of economic reform. We then address the state of democracy in the Africa, the difficulty of development interventions, and the issue of civil war. We conclude with a discussion of what the future may hold for the region. REQUIREMENTS The course is taught in two lectures each week, on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00 to 12:15am in 220 Haines Hall. Attendance at lectures is mandatory. Students are required to take a mid-term and a final exam. They are also required to attend and participate in weekly discussion sections. In addition, students will read Chinua Achebe s novel Anthills of the Savannah and write a short (10-12 page) paper relating the novel to the themes of the course. Students will also be required to take a map test during the quarter s second week. The relative weights accorded to these five requirements are as follows: midterm (25%), paper (20%), final (35%), section participation (15%), and map test (5%). [Note: to aid you in studying for the map test, I highly recommend any of the websites you will find if you Google Africa map quiz. ] The course involves a heavy reading load, the completion of which is essential to understanding the issues and controversies addressed in the lectures. With the exception of the Achebe novel, which is readily available at Amazon.com, all of the readings are posted on the course web page (UCLA login required) and are available to be downloaded for your own use. Note that the final exam for the course is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6, 8am-11am. All students must take the exam at this date/time. If you know that you have a conflict with this date/time, then you should not enroll in the course. UCLA is committed to providing help to students with disabilities. If you wish to request an accommodation due to a suspected or documented disability, please inform Professor Posner and/or contact the Center for Accessible Education at A255 Murphy Hall, (310) Website:

2 LECTURE AND READING SCHEDULE WEEK 1 Sept 22: Introduction Richard Dowden Africa is a Night Flight Away: Images and Realities. In Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. London: Portobello Books: ch. 1. WEEK 2 Sept 27: The Scramble for Africa and the Nature of Colonial Rule Thomas Pakenham Introduction. In The Scramble for Africa, New York: Random House: xxi-xxiii. Jeffrey Herbst The Europeans and the African Problem. In States and Power in Africa: Comparative Lessons in Authority and Control. Princeton: Princeton University Press: ch. 3. Sept 29: The Legacy of Colonialism Peter Ekeh Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement. Comparative Studies in Society and History 17(1): Wangari Maathai A Legacy of Woes. In The Challenge for Africa. New York: Anchor Books: ch. 2. WEEK 3 Oct 4: National Independence Movements Peter J. Schraeder Nationalism and the Emergence of the Contemporary Independence Era. In African Politics and Society. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin s: ch. 6. Martin Meredith L Afrique Noir and Winds of Change. In The Fate of Africa. New York: Public Affairs: chs Robert Bates The Commercialization of Agriculture and the Rise of Rural Political Protest. In Essays on the Political Economy of Rural Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press: ch. 4. Oct 6: The Centralization of Authority and the Rise of Personal Rule Todd Moss Big Men, Personal Rule and Patronage Politics. In African Development: Making Sense of the Issues and Actors. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner: ch. 3. Patrick Chabal and Jean-Pascal Daloz W(h)ither the State? and Recycled Elites. In Africa Works: Disorder as Political Instrument. Oxford: James Currey: chs. 1 and 3. WEEK 4 Oct 11: The Decay of the State Martin Meredith The Slippery Slope. In The Fate of Africa. New York: Public Affairs: ch. 16. Uwem Akpan Baptizing the Gun. The New Yorker, 4 January. Victor Azarya and Naomi Chazan Disengagement from the State in Africa: Reflections on the Experience of Ghana and Guinea. Comparative Studies in Society and History 29:

3 Oct 13: Agricultural Policy Robert Bates The Nature and Origins of Agricultural Policies in Africa. In Essays on the Political Economy of Rural Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press: ch. 5. WEEK 5 Oct 18 and 20: Ethnicity in Africa Robert Bates Modernization, Ethnic Competition and the Rationality of Politics in Contemporary Africa. In Donald S. Rothchild and Victor A. Olorunsola, eds. State versus Ethnic Claims: African Policy Dilemmas. Boulder, CO: Westview Press: Blaine Harden Battle for the Body. In Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent. Boston: Houghton Mifflin: ch. 3. Daniel Posner The Political Salience of Cultural Difference: Why Chewas and Tumbukas are Allies in Zambia and Adversaries in Malawi. American Political Science Review 98(4): Daniel Posner Ethnicity and Ethnic Politics in Zambia. In Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press: ch. 4. WEEK 6 Oct 25: MIDTERM Oct 27: Explaining Slow Economic Growth in Africa Martin Meredith The Lost Decade. In The Fate of Africa. New York: Public Affairs: ch. 22. Todd Moss Africa s Slow Growth Puzzle. In African Development: Making Sense of the Issues and Actors. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner: ch. 6. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson Economic Backwardness in Political Perspective. American Political Science Review 100(1): WEEK 7 Nov 1: The Domestic Politics of Economic Reform Nicolas van de Walle Patterns of Reform Implementation, In African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis. New York: Cambridge University Press. ch. 2. Blaine Harden Eye of the Family. In Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent. Boston: Houghton Mifflin: ch. 2. Nov 3: The International Politics of Economic Reform: Aid William Easterly Can the West Save Africa? Journal of Economic Literature 47 (June):

4 WEEK 8 Nov 8: Political Change in Africa in the 1990s Martin Meredith The Struggle for Democracy. In The Fate of Africa. New York: Public Affairs: ch. 23. Robert Bates The Economic Bases of Democratization. In Richard Joseph, ed., State, Conflict and Democracy in Africa. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner: Thad Dunning Conditioning the Effects of Aid: Cold War Politics, Donor Credibility, and Democracy in Africa. International Organization 58 (Spring): Nov 10: No Class; Anthills paper due WEEK 9 Nov 15: Democracy in Africa Larry Diamond The Rule of Law versus the Big Man. Journal of Democracy 19 (April): Staffan Lindberg What Accountability Pressures do MPs in Africa Face and How Do They Respond? Evidence from Ghana. Journal of Modern African Studies 48(1): Daniel Posner and Daniel J. Young. Forthcoming. Elections, Term Limits and the Transfer of Power in Africa. In Nicholas Cheeseman, ed., Politics in Africa: The Importance of Institutions. New York: Cambridge University Press. Nov 17: Development Interventions in Africa Ensminger, Jean Inside Corruption Networks: Following the Money in Community Driven Development. Unpublished paper. Carol Graham A Review of William Easterly s The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor. Journal of Economic Literature 53(1): WEEK 10 Nov 22: Civil Wars in Africa Martin Meredith Where Vultures Fly and Blood Diamonds. In The Fate of Africa. New York: Public Affairs: chs 28 and 29. Jon Lee Anderson Letter from Angola: Oil and Blood. The New Yorker, 14 August. Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler On the Incidence of Civil War in Africa. Journal of Conflict Resolution 46(1): Nov 24: THANKSGIVING 4

5 WEEK 11 Nov 29 and Dec 1: An African Renaissance? Steven Radelet Success Stories from Emerging Africa. Journal of Democracy 21(4): Robert Rotberg Introduction: A Continent on the Move, A Myriad Challenges and Opportunities, China Drives Growth, and Creating Responsible Leadership. In Africa Emerges. Malden, MA: Polity Press: Introduction and chs. 1, 9 and 11. Michael Bratton Briefing: Citizens and Cell Phones in Africa. African Affairs 112(447): Scott Straus Wars Do End! Changing Patterns of Political Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Affairs 111(443): E. Gyimah-Boadi Africa s Waning Democratic Commitment. Journal of Democracy 26(1):

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