Course Information
Course title
African Politics 
Semester
103-2 
Designated for
COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES  DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE  
Instructor
CHEN-SHEN YEN 
Curriculum Number
PS4616 
Curriculum Identity Number
302E51700 
Class
 
Credits
Full/Half
Yr.
Half 
Required/
Elective
Elective 
Time
Thursday 3,4(10:20~12:10) 
Remarks
The upper limit of the number of students: 66.
The upper limit of the number of non-majors: 20. 
Ceiba Web Server
http://ceiba.ntu.edu.tw/1032PS4616_ 
Course introduction video
 
Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
Association has not been established
Course Syllabus
Please respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not copy any of the course information without permission
Course Description

1. Colonial and Pre-Independence History
2. Choices of Ideology
3. Ethnicity and Identity
4. Social Classes
5. Clientelism and Patrimonialism
6. Military in Politics
7. Africa's International Political Relations
8. Africa's International Economic Relations
9. Political and Economic Governance
10. Democratic Transition, Democratic Consolidation or Democratic Reversal
11. Post-Conflict Societies, Transitional Justice
 

Course Objective
1. To remove misperception and preconceived biased view of Africa;
2. To gain information and knowledge on various political, economic and social problems in Africa;
3. To evaluate the directions of political democratization and economic development on African continent; and
4. To develop analytical ability in assessing political and economic issues of African nations
 
Course Requirement
Midterm and final exam each accounts for 35% of the total grade. A country study project accounts for 20% of the grade. Class participation accounts for the remaining 10% of the grade. There is also a map test that requires a student to identify/locate all African countries on the map. A student has to pass the map test before receiving the final grade. He/she can take this test as many times as needed. Objective questions such as matching, true & false, multiple choices, as well as short and long essay questions will be included to accommodate individual student's particular strength in comprehension.

The country study project requires each student to collect the following information of one African country (if possible, 2013, or the latest):

1. Name of the Country (both English and Chinese; Chinese Name Used in Both Taiwan and Mainland China)
2. Name of the People (English)
3. Colonial Power(s)
4. Name of the Country during Colonial Time
5. Date of Independence
6. Capital(s) (English and Chinese; Chinese Name Used in both Taiwan and Mainland China)
7. Official Language(s)
8. Major Ethnic Groups (those over 5% of the population)
9. National System (Centralized or Federal, Unit for Lower Level of Government)
10. Political System (Presidential, Parliamentary, Military)
11. Party Competition (One Party State, One-Dominant Party, Two-Party System, Multi-Party System)
12. Head of State and Head of Government
13. Presidential Term Limit
14. Electoral System (Presidential and Parliamentary Electoral System)
15. Military Coups (Frequency and Time of Occurrence)
16. Most Recent and Next Presidential and Parliamentary Elections and the Results of the Former)
17. Corruption Perception Index (Overall Score) (Ranking in the World) (Transparency International)
18. Democracy Index (Overall Score,) (Full Democracy, Flawed Democracy, Hybrid Regime, Authoritarian Regime) (Economist Intelligence Unit)
19. Economic Freedom Index (Overall Score) (Free, Mostly Free, Moderately Free, Mostly Unfree, Suppressed) (The Heritage Foundation)
20. Failed States Index (Overall Score) (Ranking in the World) (The Fund for Peace/Foreign Policy)
21. Freedom in the World Index (Political Rights, Civil Liberties) (Free, Partly Free, Not Free) (Freedom House)
22. Human Development Index (Overall Score) (Life Expectancy, Literacy Rate, and Purchasing Power Parity) (United Nations)
23. Ibrahim Index of African Governance (Overall Score) (Ranking in Africa) (Mo Ibrahim Foundation)
24. Press Freedom Index (Overall Score) (Ranking in the World) (Reporters without Borders)
25. Time to Establish or/and Break off Diplomatic Relations with People’s Republic of China and Republic of China
 
Student Workload (expected study time outside of class per week)
 
Office Hours
Appointment required. 
Designated reading
Alex Thompson, An Introduction to African Politics, 3rd Edition. London and New York: Routledge, 2010. 
References
The following websites are very useful to acquire information about African politics

www.allafrica.com
www.news.bbc.co.uk
www.economist.com
www.csmonitor.com
www.africa-taiwan.org
 
Grading
   
Progress
Week
Date
Topic
Week 1
2/26  Syllabus, Introduction to Africa 
Week 2
3/05  Chapter 1 - Introduction 
Week 3
3/12  Chapter 2 - History 
Week 4
3/19  Chapter 3 - Ideology 
Week 5
3/26  Chapter 4 - Ethnicity and Religioin 
Week 6
4/02  Spring Break 
Week 7
4/09  Chapter 5 - Social Class 
Week 8
4/16  Chapter 6 - Legitimacy 
Week 9
4/23  Midterm Exam 
Week 10
4/30  Chapter 7 - Coercion 
Week 11
5/07  Chapter 8 - Sovereignty I 
Week 12
5/14  Chapter 9 - Sovereignty II 
Week 13
5/21  Chapter 10 - Authority 
Week 14
5/28  Chapter 11 - Democracy 
Week 15
6/04  Post-Conflict Societies 
Week 16
6/11  Final Exam 
Week 17
6/18  Discussion of a Semester's Learning