Postgraduate Course: Development and Security in Africa (PGSP11294)
Course Outline
| School |
School of Social and Political Science |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits |
20 |
| Home subject area |
Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None
|
Taught in Gaelic? |
No |
| Course description |
During the 1990s security, later labelled human security, emerged as one of the key topics in debates about Africa. In a time of declining government authority in the wake of neo-liberal reforms and the proliferation of armed conflicts after the end of the Cold War modes of governance became established in many parts of Africa that merged
development and security agendas. This transformation was reflected in the international responses to the complex emergencies across Africa ranging from peacekeeping missions, the activities of Private Military Companies (PMCs) and humanitarian interventions to complex exercises
in state-building in conjunction with development policies. New transnational crime control strategies and counter-terrorism operations have fused with development policies aimed at improving governance and humanitarian interventions. While the 21st century securitization and militarization of development policies for and in Africa has been in full swing, Africans across the continent have
arguably continued to live with similarly high levels of insecurity and violence in their daily lives as in previous decades. While the 'development-security nexus' is all the rage with policy-makers, we therefore need to ask: 'What's new, and what can we learn from it?' This course offers a critical introduction to current research on the various aspects of the current merging of security and development in Africa and puts this in the context of wider debates about governance, politics and the postcolonial state in Africa. Specifically, the course will examine peacekeeping missions, the transformation of sovereignty, humanitarian interventions, civil wars and the reconfiguration of the security agenda in Africa in their historical and socio-political context. These topics are approached through
theoretical literature and policy documents. Two case studies will be discussed at length to explore the various dimensions of development and security in greater detail. The course will mainly draw on literature from anthropology, political science and history, examining
current trends in the multi-faceted transformation of security and development across and outside Africa. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites |
|
| Prohibited Combinations |
|
Other requirements |
None
|
| Additional Costs |
None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? |
No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| No Classes have been defined for this Course |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes comply with the descriptions for level 11 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). More specifically, these include:
- A comprehensive overview and critical understanding of the principle and several specialised theories and concepts used in the current debate on security and development in Africa in the context of global governance.
- A topically and geographically diverse range of detailed case studies organised around clearly defined sub-topics will give students a critical awareness of current issues in this field, but with enough specific facts to appreciate the wide diversity within it.
- The compulsory preparation of group presentations will require students to self-organize in small teams to address a specific scientific and empirical question and finally communicate their results to their peers and the course convenors in a coherent manner and within limited time, making use of (audio)visual technology.
- The compulsory essay will require students to practice their skills in scientific writing and literature-based research, to plan and execute what will amount to a significant project of research, and thereby to demonstrate creativity in the application of the knowledge they have gathered from the course. |
Assessment Information
| Students are assessed by an essay of 4000 words length. All essays are based on comparative work linking larger bodies of literature with case-study material. Students can either decide to suggest an essay topic within the overall course theme or be given one by the course convenors, who will be available for individual consultation. By week 5 students must prepare a 500 word abstract for their essay containing a title, research question, short outline and preliminary literature list. All students will receive written feedback on the abstract from the course convenors by week 8, but it will not be assessed. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Course Overview (with references for compulsory readings)
Week 1: Introduction
Course practicalities; course topics, distribution of student group presentations
Lecture: A critical introduction to key issues of development and security in Africa.
Buur, Lars, Steffen Jensen, Finn Stepputat, eds. 2007. The Security-Development Nexus:
Expressions of Sovereignty and Securitisation in Southern Africa. Introduction.
Week 2: The Merging of Development and Security
Lecture: The merging of development and security since the end of the Cold War.
Student presentation: Historical context: The colonial project and development & security.
Duffield, Mark. 2001. Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and
Security. London: Zed Books.
Week 3: Investigating the Roots of African Conflicts
Lecture: Various theories, both popular and academic, have been advanced to explain conflicts and civil war in Africa. The lecture will provide the students with a comprehensive survey of these theories, their strengths and weaknesses.
Student presentation: The greed and grievance theory and the anthropological perspective.
Nhema, Alfred and Tiyambe Zeleza, eds. 2008, The Roots of African Conflicts: The Causes
and Costs. James Currey, Oxford.
Week 4: Peacekeeping in Africa
Lecture: Since the 1990s a growing number of peacekeeping operations by the UN and regional bodies have been conducted across Africa, reconfiguring in manifold ways national and regional politics.
Student presentation: Peacekeeping in comparison.
Pouligny, Béatrice. 2006. Peace Operations Seen from below: UN Missions and Local People.
London: Hurst.
Week 5: Warlords, Criminals and Entrepreneurs: The Criminalization of Trans-national Networks in Africa
Lecture: Since the end of the Cold War criminal networks and warlords appear to be on the rise in many parts of Africa. The lecture will critically review the literature on this topic.
Student presentation: Exploring the porous boundaries between legality and illegality.
Nordstrom, Carolyn. 2007. Global Outlaws: Crime, Money and Power in the Contemporary
World. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Week 6: Youth in Africa and the Art of Making Do in Times of War
Lecture: The anthropological literature on the war has focused on the role of youth in the civil wars and their creative ways of making do in times of conflict and disorder. The lecture will discuss this literature in the light of the development and security problematique.
Student presentation: Neither victims nor perpetrators: Agency and structure in civil war.
de Boeck, Filip and Alcinda Honwana, eds. 2005. Makers and Breakers: Children and Youth
in Postcolonial Africa. Oxford: James Currey. One chapter.
Week 7: Mercenaries and Counter-terrorist Strategies in Africa
Lecture: Private military companies have become a salient influence in African crises since the end of the Cold War and the privatization of security services. Since the beginning of the 21st century the US have been leading in developing counter-terrorist strategies and a comprehensive security framework in Africa.
Student presentation: US counter-terrorism strategies in Africa.
Abrahamsen, Rita and Michael C. Williams. 2011. Security Beyond the State: Private Security in
International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Week 8: Case study I: Negotiating New Beginnings in Sierra Leone
Lecture: Sierra Leone provides an instructive case to explore the merging of development and security in Africa and to apply the theoretical literature to a concrete example. The country has served as one of the principal laboratories for interventions into African civil wars and the new security architecture.
Student presentation: The road to civil war and lessons learned: The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Week 9: Case study II: Making War and Making Profit in 'Sugango'- the Border Triangle of Uganda, South Sudan and DRCongo
Further details tbc
Week 10: Student Debate on the duty to protect
Proponents of global order have been advancing the duty to protect as a means to legitimize humanitarian and military interventions. Critics from the West and the South have criticized the duty to protect as thinly veiled instrument of a neo-imperial project. Students will organize in groups and prepare themselves to represent the advocates&© and critics&© side, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of humanitarian military interventions in Africa and beyond. |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
The course runs for 10 weeks (2 hours per week). A weekly lecture (1 hour, held by Gerhard Anders or Wolfgang Zeller) is followed be a seminar (1 hour) with student group presentations (max. length 20 minutes; use of power point is obligatory) and discussion. Each week the overall course theme is addressed through a specific sub-topic grounded in the compulsory reading for each session. The topics for student group presentations will be discussed and distributed in the first course session. The course will make use of a course web page where students can access course information, literature and the lecturers' and students' presentations. |
| Keywords |
Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Dr Wolfgang Zeller
Tel: (0131 6)51 3134
Email: wolfgang.zeller@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Miss Madina Howard
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: Madina.Howard@ed.ac.uk |
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copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh -
1 September 2011 6:40 am
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