Democracy, Development and Decline in Sub-Saharan Africa (E574)

Course Organization

Time & Location:

Tuesdays, 16:15-18:00, Salle Georges, Abi-Saab

Professor:

Anne Pitcher
Office: Pavillon Rigot 30
Office hours: Wednesdays, 15:00-17:00
Telephone: 022 908 59 43
E-mail: apitcher@mail.colgate.edu

Course Description

Over the last two decades, African countries have undergone changes that have been as profound as those that have affected countries in Central and Eastern Europe. This course will explore a series of transitions- from war to peace, from one party to multi party democracies, and from state to private sector driven economies- that have taken place in countries as diverse as Angola, South Africa, Mozambique and Uganda. We will discuss the theoretical literature on the state, civil society, institutions, culture, and globalization in order to explain why the transitions occurred and what impact they have had on political alliances, economic development and civic participation within African countries. We will also document the effects of the recent changes on the spatial configuration of urban areas, on the rural-urban divide, and on the livelihoods of ordinary Africans.

Requirements

The assessment for the course is based on two 8-10 page analytical and comparative papers (20% each) and one long (20 pages-45% of the grade) comparative research paper due at the end of the course. 15 % of the grade will be based on constructive contributions to class debates. Regarding class attendance, students should expect to have their grade lowered if they miss class.

Method of Evaluation

The method of evaluation for written work looks at 3 main components of the paper:

• 1. The Analysis: This includes the presentation of the hypothesis or the argument, supporting evidence for the argument, and the presentation of evidence that might challenge the argument;
• 2. How the Paper is written: This component examines the clarity of the writing, the use of grammar, the transitions between paragraphs, the introduction and the conclusion;
• 3. Citations and Bibliography: This component evaluates the proper use of citations and the inclusion or exclusion of sources in the bibliography.

Additional information on these components will be provided when papers are assigned. Late papers will be penalized.

Course Outline and Readings

1. March 13th
No class but syllabus will be handed out and logistical questions will be answered

2. March 20th
One party states and state-controlled Economies after independence: Benefits, Burdens and Historical Legacies

• April Gordon and Donald Gordon, eds., Understanding Contemporary Africa , chapters 3-5
• Anne Pitcher, Transforming Mozambique , Chapters 1-2
• Crawford Young, “Democratization in Africa: The Contradictions of a Political Imperative” in Jennifer Widner, ed., Economic Change and Political Liberalization in Sub-Saharan Africa , pp. 230-250

3. March 27th
Resources, Conflict, and the end of the Cold War: The Cases of Angola, Congo, and Mozambique: Civil Wars or Multi-State Wars?

• S.J. Stedman and T. Lyons, “Conflict in Africa” in E. Gyimah-Boadi, ed. Democratic Reform in Africa ”
• T. Hodges, Angola : Anatomy of an Oil State , chapters 2-3
• W. Reno, Warlord Politics and African States, chapters 2 and 5.
• C. Nordstrom, “Out of the Shadows” in Callaghy, Kssimir and Latham, eds., Intervention and Transnationalism in Africa

4. April 3rd
The Transition to Democracy: Electoral Politics and African Party Systems

• P. von Doepp and L. Villalon, “Elites, Institutions, and the Varied Trajectories of Africa's Third Wave Democracies in Villalon and von Doepp, The Fate of Africa's Democratic Experiments
• C. Manning, chapter 10 in Villalon and von Doepp.
• J. Hamill, “The Elephant and the Mice: Election 2004 and the Future of Opposition Politics in South Africa”,
• Lise Rakner and Lars Svasand, “Stuck in Transition: Electoral Processes in Zambia, 1991-2001”

April 6-April 15
Easter break, also April 17 no class but make-up on Friday April 27th

5. April 24th
Transitions from Below: The Recognition and Growth Of Civil Society

• Michael Bratton and Nicolas van de Walle, “Popular Protest and Political Reform in Africa”
• N. Kasfir, “Civil Society, the State and Democracy in Africa”
• A. Bujra, “African Civil Society, Democracy and Development”, chapter 2
• S. Adejumobi, “Between Democracy and Development in Africa”, ch. 7 in A. Bujra and S. Adejumobi, Breaking New Barriers, Creating New Hopes
• Bauer and Britton, eds., chapter 1 in Women in African Parliaments
• G. Bauer, “The Unmet Target: Thirty Percent Women in SADC Parliaments by 2006”

Comparative Analytical Paper (8-10 pages) due Friday April 27

6. Friday April 27th 14:15-16:00 Abi-Saab, Make-up session
Economic Reform in Africa: The Changing Global Aid and Trade Regime

• T. Callaghy, “Networks and Governance in Africa: innovation in the debt regime” in Callaghy, Kssimir and Latham, eds., Intervention and Transnationalism in Africa
• Jaroslaw Petras, “The Role of the WTO for Economies in Transition” in Krueger, ed., The WTO
• Peter Gibbon and Stefano Ponte, chapters 1 and 2 in Africa, Value Chains, and the Global Economy
• James Ferguson, “Introduction” and chapter 1 in Global Shadows
• Karen Hansen, Salaula: The World of Secondhand Clothing and Zambia , intro. And chapter 5

7. May 1st
(holiday-no class)

8. May 8th
Production, Consumption, and Consumerist Identities across Africa

• Susanne Freidberg, “On the trail of the global green bean: methodological considerations in multi-site ethnography”, Global Networks 1, 4 (2001) 353-368.
• Anne Pitcher, “Cars are Killing Luanda” in Cities in Contemporary Africa
• Andre Czegledy, “Getting Around Town: transportation and the built environment in post-apartheid South Africa”
• Karen Hansen, Salaula , chapters 6-7

Analytical Paper (8-10 pages) due Tuesday, May 15th

9. May 15th
The City as Spectacle: Johannesburg and Cape Town

• Achile Mbembe and Sarah Nuttall, “Writing the World from an African Metropolis”, Public Culture , 16, 3 (2005): 347-372
• Michael Watts, “Baudelaire over Berea, Simmel over Sandton?”, Public Culture , 17, 1 (2005): 181-192.
• Mbembe and Nuttall: “A Blasé Attitude: A Response to Michael Watts”, Public Culture , 17, 1 (2005): 193-201.
• Rafael Marks and Marco Bezzoli, “Palaces of Desire: Century City, Cape Town and the Ambiguities of Development” Urban Forum , 12, 1 (2001): 27-48.
• Teresa Dirsweit and Florian Schattauer, “Fortresses of Desire” Melrose Arch and the emergence of urban tourist spectacles”

10. May 22nd
Urban Utopias and Distopias in a Post-Liberal Age: Lagos, Douala, Johannesburg

• Garth Myers and Martin Murray, “Situating Contemporary Cities in Africa” in Cities in Contemporary Africa
• AbdouMaliq Simone, “The Spectral: Assembling Douala, Cameroon”, in For the City Yet to Come
• Dominique Malaquais, ”Douala/Johannesburg/New York: Cityscapes Imagined” in Cities in Contemporary Africa
• Matthew Gandy, “Planning, Anti-Planning and the Infrastructure Crisis Facing Metropolitan Lagos” in Cities in Contemporary Africa

11. May 29th
Informal Settlements and “Illegal” Squatters

• Center for Housing and Forced Removals, selected articles,
• Filip De Boeck, “On Being Shege in Kinshasa: Children, the Occult and the Street” in Reinventing Order in the Congo, Theodore Trefon, ed.
• Debby Potts, “City Life in Zimbabwe at a Time of Fear and Loathing” in Cities in Contemporary Africa

Major Research Paper (20 pages) Due Tuesday, June 12th