GE 1533-0

Brief

This is an introduction to African politics since de-colonization and independence until the present. Topics of historical background of colonization and independence, ideology, state and civil society, identity politics, class, patrimonial rule, patron-client relations, political parties, coercion and military coup, civil war, ethnic conflicts, , economic development, Africa's international relations are introduced.

Description

Course keywords: 殖民主義，認同、族群衝突、軍事政變、民主化 colonialism, identity, ethnic conflict, military coup, democratization 1. To remove misperception and preconceived biased view of Africa; 2. To gain information and knowledge on various political, economic and social problems in Africa; 3. To evaluate the directions of political democratization and economic development on African continent; and 4. To develop analytical ability in assessing political and economic issues of African nations Text Book Alex Thomson, An Introduction to African Politics, 4th Edition. London and New York: Routledge, 2016. References The following websites are very useful to acquire information about African politics www.africanews.com www.aljazeera.com www.allafrica.com www.news.bbc.co.uk www.economist.com www.csmonitor.com Teaching Methods This course will be taught in English. A student is encouraged to use English in the classroom and required in taking the exams. Even though lecturing will take up most of the course time, a student has to participate in classroom discussion. Preparation for the assigned materials before each class is a prerequisite for meaningful participation. Syllabus 1. Introduction of the course 2. Introduction: State, Civil Society ad External Interests (Chapter 1) 3. History: Africa’s Pre-Colonial and Colonial Heritage (Chapter 2) 4. Ideology: Nationalism, Socialism, Popularism and State Capitalism (Chapter 3) 5. Ethnicity and Religion: ‘Tribes’, Gods ad Political Identity (Chapter 4) 6. Movie: Hotel Rwanda 7. Social Class: The Search for Class Politics in Africa (Chapter 5) 8. Legitimacy: Neo-Patrimonialism, Personal Rule and the Centralization of African State (Chapter 6) 9. Midterm Examination 10. Coercion: Military Intervention in African Politics (Chapter 7) 11. Sovereignty I: External Influences on African Politics (Chapter 8) 12. Sovereignty II: Neo-Colonialism, Structural Adjustment and African Political Economy (Chapter 9) 13. Authority: The Crises of Accumulation, Governance and State Collapse (Chapter 10) 14. Democracy: Re-Legitimizing the African State? (Chapter 11) 15. Conclusion: The Changing Relations between State, Civil Society and External Interests in the Post-Colonial Era (Chapter 12) 16. Final Examination Evaluation Midterm and final exam each make up 35% of the total grade. A country study project accounts for 20% of the grade. Class participation accounts for the remaining 10% of the grade. 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, 2022 or 2023, 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. Head of State and Head of Government 9. Presidential Terms (including changes since 1990) 10. Military Coups (Frequency and Time of Occurrence) 11. Most Recent and Next Presidential and Parliamentary Elections and the Results 12. Corruption Perception Index (Score) (Ranking in the World) (Transparency International) 13. Democracy Index (Score) (Ranking in the World) (Full Democracy, Flawed Democracy, Hybrid Regime, Authoritarian Regime) (Economist Intelligence Unit) 14. Economic Freedom Index (Score) (Ranking in the World) (Free, Mostly Free, Moderately Free, Mostly Unfree, Repressed) (The Heritage Foundation) 15. Failed States Index (Score) (Ranking in the World) (Very High Alert, High Alert, Alert, High Warning, Elevated Warning, Warning, Stable, More Stable, Stable, Sustainable, Very Sustainable, Data Unavailable) (The Fund for Peace/Foreign Policy) 16. Freedom in the World Index (Political Rights, Civil Liberties, Points) (Free, Partly Free, Not Free) (Freedom House) 17. Global Competitiveness Index (Score) (Ranking in the World) (World Economic Forum) 19. Global Peace Index (Score) (Ranking in the World) (Institute for Economics & Peace) 20. Human Development Index (Overall Score) (Life Expectancy, Literacy Rate, and Purchasing Power Parity) (United Nations) 21. Ibrahim Index of African Governance (Score) (Ranking in Africa) (Mo Ibrahim Foundation) 22. Legatum Prosperity Index (Ranking in the World) (Ranking in Africa) (Legatum Institute) 23. Press Freedom Index (Global Score) (Ranking in the World) (Categories: Good, Fairly Good, Problematic, Very Bad) (Reporters without Borders) 24. Rule of Law Index (Score) (Ranking in the World) (Ranking in Africa) (World Justice Project) 25. Transformation Index (Values of Political Transformation, Economic Transformation and Governance) (Ranking in the World in Each Three) (Bertelsmann Stiftung)

Timetable

Scores

Average GPA 2.73

Std. Deviation 1.34

Remarks

本課程為16週課程

Restrictions

Compulsory

Elective

Cross Discipline

First Specialization

Second Specialization