Identify what you perceive to be the top five political, economic, and conflict issues in Africa. As you identify these issues, explain how each one influences security issues in Africa. Provide your assessment of the future implications of these issues for Africa and the international system.
For each of the five issues, include the following analysis:
- Describe the issue
- Explain who the major actors are and how/why they are involved
- Analyze current African policies directed at the issue
- Analyze current U.S. policies directed at the issue
- Recommend additional African and U.S. policies that should be directed at the issue
Sources:
Jaimie Bleck and Nicolas van de Walle, Electoral Politics in Africa since 1990: Continuity in Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019).
ISBN-13: 978-1107162082
ISBN-10: 1107162084
Read all. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Electoral-Politics-Africa-since-1990/dp/1316612473
John W. Harbeson and Donald Rothchild, eds., Africa in World Politics: Constructing Political and Economic Order (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2017).
ISBN-13: 978-0813350288
ISBN-10: 081335028X
Read Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 as outlined in the weekly lessons. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Africa-World-Politics-Constructing-Political/dp/081335028X
William A. Taylor, Contemporary Security Issues in Africa (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2019).
ISBN-13: 978-1440851902
ISBN-10: 1440851905
Read Chapters 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 as outlined in the weekly lessons. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Security-Issues-Praeger-International/dp/1440851905
Jason K. Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa (New York: PublicAffairs, 2011).
ISBN-13: 978-1610391078
ISBN-10: 1610391071
Read all. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Glory-Monsters-Collapse-Africa/dp/1610391071
Irene Yuan Sun, The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment Is Reshaping Africa (Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2017).
ISBN-13: 978-1633692817
ISBN-10: 1633692817
Read all. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Next-Factory-World-Investment-Reshaping/dp/1633692817
Additional Readings and Articles
Elliott Green, “The Politics of Ethnic Identity in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Comparative Political Studies 54, no. 7 (June 2021): 1197–1226. Read All. Available at https://journals-sagepub-com.easydb.angelo.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/0010414020970223
Jacob S. Lewis, “Corruption Perceptions and Contentious Politics in Africa: How Different Types of Corruption Have Shaped Africa’s Third Wave of Protest,” Political Studies Review 19, no. 2 (May 2021): 227–244. Read All. Available at https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=150334114&site=eds-live&scope=site
Ruth Wolf and Monica Thiel, “Economic Growth in Africa through an Ethical Lens,” Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies 12, no. 1 (September 2018): 145–165. Read all. Available at https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsglr.A559893749&site=eds-live&scope=site
Wendy Williams, “Shifting Borders: Africa’s Displacement Crisis and Its Security Implications,” Africa Center for Strategic Studies Research Paper, no. 8 (October 2019): 1–62. Read all. Available at https://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ARP08EN-Shifting-Borders-Africas-Displacement-Crisis-and-Its-Implications.pdf
Leif Brottem, “The Growing Complexity of Farmer-Herder Conflict in West and Central Africa,” Africa Security Brief: A Publication of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, no. 39 (July 2021): 1–8. Read All. Available at https://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ASB39EN-The-Growing-Complexity-of-Farmer-Herder-Conflict-in-West-and-Central-Africa-update-7-27-21.pdf
Jaimie Bleck and Nicolas van de Walle, Electoral Politics in Africa since 1990: Continuity in Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019). Read all. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Electoral-Politics-Africa-since-1990/dp/1316612473
Joseph Siegle and Candace Cook, “Taking Stock of Africa’s 2021 Elections,” July 19, 2021. Read all. Available at https://africacenter.org/spotlight/2021-elections/
Dominika Koter, “King Makers: Local Leaders and Ethnic Politics in Africa,” World Politics 65, no. 2 (April 2013): 187–232. Read all. Available at https://www-cambridge-org.easydb.angelo.edu/core/journals/world-politics/article/king-makers-local-leaders-and-ethnic-politics-in-africa/F2ADB0A8207B13A0EC52041C96E6D616
Jon Abbink, “Religion and Politics in Africa: The Future of ‘The Secular,’” Africa Spectrum 49, no. 3 (October 2014): 83–106. Read all. Available at https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=100105098&site=eds-live&scope=site
Luke Patey, “Oil, Risk, and Regional Politics in East Africa,” The Extractive Industries and Society 7, no. 4 (November 2020): 1182–1188. Read all. Available at https://www-sciencedirect-com.easydb.angelo.edu/science/article/pii/S2214790X19302916?via%3Dihub
Tomas F. Husted, Alexis Arieff, Lauren Ploch Blanchard, Nicolas Cook, and Brock R. Williams, “Sub-Saharan Africa: Key Issues and U.S. Engagement,” Congressional Research Service, February 17, 2021. Read all, pp. 1–37. Available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45428
Ian Taylor, “The Sad Story of ‘Africa Rising’ and the Continent’s Romance with the BRICS,” in Africa in World Politics: Constructing Political and Economic Order, edited by John W. Harbeson and Donald Rothchild (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2017), 69–88. Read Chapter 5. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Africa-World-Politics-Constructing-Political/dp/081335028X
World Bank Group, “Africa’s Pulse: An Analysis of Issues Shaping Africa’s Economic Future,” April 2021. Read entire summary, watch short video, and skim report, pp. 1–100. Available at
Tomas F. Husted, “Gulf of Guinea: Recent Trends in Piracy and Armed Robbery,” Congressional Research Service, February 26, 2019. Read all, pp. 1–3. Available at
Tomas F. Husted and Lauren Ploch Blanchard, “Nigeria: Current Issues and U.S. Policy,” Congressional Research Service, September 18, 2020. Read all, pp. 1–22. Available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL33964
Global Witness, “Regime Cash Machine,” July 21, 2017. Read the full report, pp. 1–40. Available at https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/democratic-republic-congo/regime-cash-machine/
Kivu Security Tracker, “The Landscape of Armed Groups in Easter Congo: Missed Opportunities, Protracted Insecurity and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies,” February 2021. Read the full report, pp. 1–44. Available at https://kivusecurity.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/reports/39/2021%20KST%20report%20EN.pdf
Jason K. Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa (New York: PublicAffairs, 2011). Read all. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Glory-Monsters-Collapse-Africa/dp/1610391071
Julia Palik, Siri Aas Rustad, and Frederik Methi, “Conflict Trends in Africa, 1989–2019,” Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Paper, 2020. Read all, pp. 1–40. Available at https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Palik%2C%20Rustad%2C%20Methi%20-%20Conflict%20Trends%20in%20Africa%2C%201989%E2%80%932019%2C%20PRIO%20Paper%202020.pdf
Kingsley Ighobor, “Work in Progress for Africa’s Remaining Conflict Hotspots,” Africa Renewal, December 23, 2019. Read all. Available at https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2019-march-2020/work-progress-africa%E2%80%99s-remaining-conflict-hotspots
Simon Allison, “Conflict Is Still Africa’s Biggest Challenge in 2020,” ReliefWeb, January 6, 2020. Read all. Available at https://reliefweb.int/report/world/conflict-still-africa-s-biggest-challenge-2020
Douglas Kimemia, “The Impacts of Political Conflicts in Africa,” Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies 4, no. 2 (2021): 1–33. Read all. Available at https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jacaps/vol4/iss2/4/
Daniel Eizenga and Wendy Williams, “The Puzzle of JNIM and Militant Islamist Groups in the Sahel,” Africa Security Brief, no. 38 (December 2020): 1–8. Read all. Available at https://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ASB-38-EN.pdf
Aili Mari Tripp, “In Pursuit of Autonomy: Civil Society and the State in Africa,” in Africa in World Politics: Constructing Political and Economic Order, edited by John W. Harbeson and Donald Rothchild (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2017), 89–110. Read Chapter 6. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Africa-World-Politics-Constructing-Political/dp/081335028X
John W. Harbeson, “Democracy and the State in Sub-Saharan Africa,” in Africa in World Politics: Constructing Political and Economic Order, edited by John W. Harbeson and Donald Rothchild (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2017), 111–134. Read Chapter 7. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Africa-World-Politics-Constructing-Political/dp/081335028X
Fund for Peace, “Fragile States Index Heat Map,” 2021. Review African States. Available at https://fragilestatesindex.org/analytics/fsi-heat-map/
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Envisioning a Stable South Sudan,” Africa Center Special Report, no. 4 (May 2018): 1–80. Read all. Available at https://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/ASR04-EN-Envisioning-a-Stable-South-Sudan-Africa-Center-for-Strategic-Studies.pdf
John Campbell, “Boko Haram and Nigeria State Weakness,” in Africa in World Politics: Constructing Political and Economic Order, edited by John W. Harbeson and Donald Rothchild (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2017), 202–218. Read Chapter 11. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Africa-World-Politics-Constructing-Political/dp/081335028X
United Nations, “Global Issues: Population.” Read all and watch the accompanying short video “70 Years of Development in 70 Seconds: Global Population.” Available at https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/population
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “Population Facts, No. 2019/6,” December 2019. Read all. Available at https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/popfacts/PopFacts_2019-6.pdf
Bandar Hajjar, “The Children’s Continent: Keeping Up with Africa’s Growth,” World Economic Forum, January 13, 2020. Read all. Available at https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/the-children-s-continent/
Jack A. Goldstone, “Africa 2050: Demographic Truth and Coonsequences,” Hoover Institution, Winter Series, Issue 119, January 14, 2019. Read all. Available at https://www.hoover.org/research/africa-2050-demographic-truth-and-consequences
Peter Biar Ajak, “African Youth Engaging in Peace and Security,” Africa Center for Strategic Studies, April 29, 2021. Read all. Available at https://africacenter.org/spotlight/african-youth-engaging-in-peace-and-security/
Mercy Corps, ““We Hope and We Fight”: Youth, Communities, and Violence in Mali,” September 2017. Read all. Available at https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/Mercy%20Corps_Mali_Hope%20and%20Fight_Report_Eng_Sept%202017_0.pdf
Isaac Odoom and Nathan Andrews, “What/Who Is Still Missing in International Relations Scholarship? Situating Africa as an Agent in IR Theorising,” Third World Quarterly 38, no. 1 (January 2017): 42–60. Read all. Available at https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=120749080&site=eds-live&scope=site
Brookings Institution, “Foresight Africa 2020,” Read Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, pp. 60–90. Read all. Available at https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ForesightAfrica2020_20200110.pdf
Irene Yuan Sun, The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment Is Reshaping Africa (Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2017). Read all. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Next-Factory-World-Investment-Reshaping/dp/1633692817
Brock R. Williams, “African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA),” Congressional Research Service, May 3, 2021. Read all. Available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10149
Tarek Megerisi, “Geostrategic Dimensions of Libya’s Civil War,” Africa Security Brief: A Publication of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, no. 37, May 2020. Read all, pp. 1–10. Available at https://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ASB37EN-Geostrategic-Dimensions-of-Libyas-Civil-War-by-Tarek-Megerisi.pdf