INTS 251-01, Government and Politics of Africa, Fall 2008

This syllabus was submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs by the course instructor. Uploaded by Archives RSA Josephine Hill.This course is intended to introduce students to the government and politics of Africa. The course will begin with a historical overview of the African mosaic in its complexity before focusing on the post-independence dynamics of politics and governance, economic development and social transformation, Africa’s place in the international system, and the impact of the international system on Africa’s political and socio-economic development. Particular emphasis will be placed on the theoretical, conceptual, and institutional approaches to the analysis of African politics. The main objectives of this course include to: 1. Develop students’ clear understanding of the complexity of African politics and society. 2. Enhance students’ appreciation of the critical interface between national and international factors in shaping local political and socio-economic processes in Africa. 3. Foster students’ critical understanding and appreciation of the place of Africa in global political affairs. 4. Enhance students’ capacity for critical thinking and analytical skills through readings, class assignments, and writing of country analytical papers

INTS 200-01, Introduction to Comparative Politics, Spring 2011

This syllabus was submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs by the course instructor. Uploaded by Archives RSA Josephine Hill.Comparative politics is both a sub-field of political science and a method of political study whose focus is comparing and contrasting different political systems. It seeks to enhance our understanding of politics by comparing the political systems, political institutions, and political processes of different countries around the world. In doing so, comparative politics seeks to address questions as to how different societies organize themselves politically; why some societies are democratic and others non-democratic; why many go through peaceful social change as others experience violent social revolutions; whether there is a link between type of regime and economic performance; as well as the consequences of type of regime for policy outcomes and citizen participation in politics. In seeking to address these issues among others, this course is premised on the concept of democracy. We will assume that democracy is a continuum and is predicated upon the manner in which political institutions and processes are structured in a given polity. Following a methodological introduction and an examination of institutional approaches, we will proceed to examine the different ways in which political institutions are structured around the world and their implications for governance, participation, and political outcomes. We will then focus on country-case studies divided into three sets on a democratic continuum. First we will focus on established democracies, including Britain and India; and then non-democracies including Iran and China, and finally transitional democracies including Mexico and South Africa. It is expected that at the end of the course, students would have: (a) gained skills for comparative political analysis; (b) enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the different ways in which politics is conducted around the world; and (c) grasped the consequences and implications for these differences

The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Africa - From Grievance to Violence

A Book Chapter by Dr. Tom Onditi, the Dean of Students in the school of Humanities and social Sciences at USIU-Africa.....In a book Edited by Wanjala S. Nasong’o (Copyright © Wanjala S. Nasong’o 2015)The chapter uses examples of Rwanda and Somalia, probably two of Africa’s most conflict ravaged countries, to deny language a unifying role. It however admits that language has a solidarity function. It argues that while it is indeed true that language is a symbol for identification among a people who speak it and a vehicle for their collective, regional or global feelings, values and aspirations, such feelings, values and aspirations are created by other factors external to language

Reform and Political Impunity in Kenya: Transparency without Accountability

Kenya has been going through a period of political reform since 1991, when section 2A of the constitution, which had made Kenya a de jure one-party state, was repealed. This reform followed a prolonged struggle on the part of citizens both inside and outside the country, and their call for democracy was one that, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, was embraced by Western countries. Via diplomatic pressure and conditionality on aid, Western donors played an important role in the repeal of section 2A, the return of multiparty elections, and the creation and reform of a number of political institutions and offices via a separation of powers. But although these changes were supported by the political opposition and much of civil society in Kenya, they did not rise organically from the national struggle over political power. Nor did these reforms lead to a determination in the country to hold the political elite accountable for their transgressions. This article argues that modern Kenya’s history of economic and political inequality has resulted in a population whose very divisions make it difficult for politicians to be disciplined. Accountability has two dimensions: the horizontal accountability among branches of government that is assured by checks and balances, and the vertical accountability of the state to its citizens. Vertical accountability depends on a constituency of like-minded citizens defending broad national interests, or an electorate with a collective identity or set of identities attached to the Kenyan nation. But in the absence of such shared goals and demands, narrow personal and local interests prevail, and politicians remain unaccountable to the nation as a whole

Constraining political transformations:The two faces of activist religious organizations in the search for a new constitution in Kenya

Religious organizations are key structural components of Kenyan civil society that have played or continue to play a critical role in socio-political developments. In the last two and half decades especially, religious institutions have been among the principal actors shaping the mechanics and trajectories of Kenya's political order. But religious organizations’ political behaviour, especially in the country's search for a new constitution, was contentious and remarkably inconsistent. There were moments of progressive actions but also behaviour that imperilled progress. This article probes this ambivalence of Kenyan faith groups in the struggles for a new constitution. It is argued that their political behavioural inconsistencies largely reflect an ethnic, class and, to a lesser extent, instrumentalized doctrinal or denominational schism that is ever present in the wider Kenyan society. By analysing how religious leaders and their organizations challenged political elite domination while remaining amenable to its influence, this article illustrates the contradictions of elite pacts in these struggles and how they constrained progressive transformation