POLS 385-002: Spec Tops: Political Science: Pol. Econ -African Development (Spring 2010)

A discussion of development in Sub-Saharan Africa frequently begins with the question: "Why has Africa fallen behind?" Too often the critics of African development fail to address questions such as: "Which other regions in the world suffered the ravages of the slave trade?" or, "chafed under colonial rule well into the 20 the Century?" or, "witnessed their natural resources extracted by the developed powers?" This course will seek to address these and questions regarding development in Sub-Saharan Africa by examining the ways in which African economies have evolved from their colonial legacy, only to be buffeted again by the Cold War. While Africa's current situation cannot be properly understood outside the historical perspective, most of the semester will be devoted to contemporary issues in Africa (HIV/AIDS, growth of cities, education reforms, drought, democratic governance). The basic question: "Why are some countries succeeding and others failing?" will be addressed through the study of the experience of selected countries with differing colonial legacies and representative of the several geographic/political regions of Africa. The instructor will provide practical examples from his thirty years of experience in the Foreign Service, which included tours in Mexico, India, and the United Nations and as US ambassador to Zambia. In addition he served ten years at The Carter Center as the first director of the Global Development Initiative and then as director of peace programs.