State Building and Conflict in Africa

This course is about the relationship between political violence and state-building in Africa. The first four weeks provide background topics such as war and state formation in pre-colonial Africa and the dynamics of colonial conquest. The core themes will follow in the following four weeks, including the onset, intensity, and termination of civil war in post-colonial Africa. The last four weeks explore patterns of conflict and state-building in individual African countries. Beyond the descriptive goals, the course significantly emphasizes explaining issues. Thus, students should not only develop an understanding of what patterns of conflict and state-building in post-colonial Africa look like but also engage in a range of competing academic theories designed to describe and explain the patterns. Students can also critically weigh available evidence in developing their original understanding.