SemesterSpring Semester, 2018
DepartmentMA Program of Political Science, First Year MA Program of Political Science, Second Year
Course NameGovernment & Politics in Africa
Instructor
Credit3.0
Course TypeElective
Prerequisite
Course Objective
Course Description
Course Schedule

1. Colonial and Pre-Independence History



2. Choices of Ideology



3. Ethnicity and Identity



4. Social Classes



5. Clientelism and Patrimonialism



6. Military in Politics



7. Africa's International Political Relations



8. Africa's International Economic Relations



9. Political and Economic Governance



10. Democratic Transition, Democratic Consolidation or Democratic Reversal



11. Post-Conflict Societies, Transitional Justice


Teaching Methods
Teaching Assistant

To be announced.


Requirement/Grading

Midterm and final exams account for 25% each of the final grade. A student is also required to submit two essay reviews (5% each) and a final paper (30%), in addition to the country report (10%). There is also a map test that requires a student to identify/locate all African countries on the map. A student has to pass the map test before receiving the final grade. He/she can take this test as many times as needed. Objective questions such as matching, true & false, multiple choices, as well as short and long essay questions will be included to accommodate individual student's particular strength in comprehension.



 



The country study project requires each student to collect the following information of one African country (if possible, 2018, or the latest):





1. Name of the Country (both English and Chinese; Chinese Name Used in Both Taiwan and Mainland China)

2. Name of the People (English)

3. Colonial Power(s)

4. Name of the Country during Colonial Time

5. Date of Independence

6. Capital(s) (English and Chinese; Chinese Name Used in both Taiwan and Mainland China)

7. Official Language(s)

8. National System (Centralized or Federal, Unit for Lower Level of Government)

9. Political System (Presidential, Parliamentary, Military)

10. Head of State and Head of Government

11. Presidential Terms (including changes since 1990)



12. Military Coups (Frequency and Time of Occurrence)

13. Most Recent and Next Presidential and Parliamentary Elections and the Results of the Former)

14. Corruption Perception Index (Overall Score) (Ranking in the World) (Transparency International)

15. Democracy Index (Overall Score,) (Full Democracy, Flawed Democracy, Hybrid Regime, Authoritarian Regime) (Economist Intelligence Unit)

16. Economic Freedom Index (Overall Score) (Free, Mostly Free, Moderately Free, Mostly Unfree, Repressed) (The Heritage Foundation)

17. Failed States Index (Overall Score) (Ranking in the World) (The Fund for Peace/Foreign Policy)

18. Freedom in the World Index (Political Rights, Civil Liberties) (Free, Partly Free, Not Free) (Freedom House)



19. Global Competitiveness Index (Ranking in Africa and Ranking in the World)

20. Human Development Index (Overall Score) (Life Expectancy, Literacy Rate, and Purchasing Power Parity) (United Nations)

21. Ibrahim Index of African Governance (Overall Score) (Ranking in Africa) (Mo Ibrahim Foundation)



22. Legatum Prosperity Index (Ranking in Africa and Ranking in the World)

23. Press Freedom Index (Overall Score) (Ranking in the World) (Reporters without Borders)



24. Transformation Index (Value) (Ranking in the World)

25. Time to Establish or/and Break off Diplomatic Relations with People’s Republic of China and Republic of China



 


Textbook & Reference

Alex Thompson, An Introduction to African Politics, 3rd Edition. London and New York: Routledge, 2010.



Goran Hyden, African Politics in Comparative Perspective, 2nd edition.  New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.


Urls about Course
The following websites are very useful to acquire information about African politics www.allafrica.com www.news.bbc.co.uk www.aljazeera.com www.economist.com www.csmonitor.com
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