ASTK12308U Course: Africa's International Relations

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an intensive introduction to the broad structures and processes of international politics and foreign policy(s) in Africa.  Although we shall pay some attention to historical legacies of both precolonial and colonial periods, the course will emphasize many of the major themes and patterns that have characterized African international relations since the end of the Cold War. Among these are the interventions of both African and external powers in crisis situations; the pervasive legacies of the Cold War itself, the constraints that economic dependency and poverty place on the foreign policies of most African states, the increasing prominence of non-state actors in Africa’s international arena (such as rebel groups, transnational terrorist organizations and warlords); and the role of continental an regional organizations in the resolution of internal and international conflicts. Additionally, we will think about how international relations affect the lives of ordinary individuals as they go about their daily lives.  In this course, we will also focus on how the African state system put into place at the time of independence in the 1960s is currently in flux.  The changes of the past decade will certainly have an impact on future patterns of African international relations.

Assessment for this course will consist of a graded “free assignment”.

Course contents and themes: 

1. Precolonial Africa
2. Colonialism in Africa.
3. Decolonization process(es) of Africa.
4. Early political development of post-colonial Africa
5. African international relations during the Cold
6. Specifics of political development in African countries.
7. Contemporary religious influences
8. African political integration and main organizations of integration.
9. Bilateral relationships among African states.
10. Sources of instability and conflict in Africa.
11. The role of Africa on the international scene.
12. Foreign policy of the hegemonic regional states.