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73203-01 - Seminar: African Solutions to African Conflicts? Taking Stock of the African Peace & Security Architecture (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2024 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Michael Aeby (michael.aeby@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | The African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have assumed a pivotal role in preventing and managing violent conflict in the 20 years since initiated the construction of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) under the mantra of ‘African solutions to African problems’. The African intergovernmental organisations (IGO) that constitute the APSA’s building blocks have elaborated policy frameworks and organisational structures for early warning, preventive diplomacy, mediation, post-conflict reconstruction, peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations. The AU and RECs have intervened in numerous inter- and interstate conflicts, whereby they brokered many of the over 300 peace agreements that were concluded in Sub-Saharan African since the inception of the APSA. The African IGOs, however, grapple with a range of political, operational and financial challenges that affect the functioning of APSA structures. Their conflict interventions have led to mixed outcomes as many AU and REC-sponsored peace agreements have collapsed without being implemented. The seminar offers an introduction to the flourishing research on the APSA and aims to take a critical look on policies, structures and conflict interventions of African IGOs. It focuses on the AU, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and Southern African Development Community (SADC) that constitute the most significant APSA building blocks. The seminar starts with an introduction, firstly, to the history and institutions of African IGOs, and, secondly, concepts of Peace and Conflict Studies that will be applied to study APSA structures and interventions in the course. The discussed APSA structures of the four African IGOs include conflict early warning systems, panels for peace diplomacy, mediation support units (MSU), post-conflict reconstruction programmes, sub-regional components of the African Standby Force, funding facilities, as well as programmes for post-conflict reconstruction, Women peace & Security (WPS) and civil society participation. Furthermore, we will review recent peace-making and military interventions by the four IGOs in Central, East, West and Southern Africa. The last two meetings serve to juxtapose the IGOs’ structures and interventions to develop comparative insights and policy lessons. |
| Learning objectives | - Acquire expertise on APSA structures and conflict interventions of African IGOs. - Acquire foundational knowledge on conflict prevention, peace-making and peacekeeping approaches. - Learn about different theoretical, methodological and disciplinary approaches to researching peace and security in Africa. - Acquire basic knowledge on contemporary African history, international relations and politics. - Acquire analytical skills by analysing organisational structures, interventions and conflicts. - Improve writing skills by writing an essay and an optional seminar paper. - Improve presentation skills by presenting an essay and comparative findings in a group presentation. - Practice collaboration skills by jointly conducting a qualitative comparative analysis. - Learn about different types and purposes of academic and policy research publications on the reading list. |
| Admission requirements | This course is capped at 25-30 max. Students and prioritizes MA Changing Societies Students, MA Afri an Studies and MA Political Science on timely registration. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 19.09.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 26.09.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 03.10.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 10.10.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 17.10.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 24.10.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 31.10.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 07.11.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 14.11.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 21.11.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 28.11.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 05.12.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 12.12.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 19.12.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Pharmaziemuseum, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Modules |
Modul: Erweiterung Gesellschaftswissenschaften M.A. (Master's degree subject: Political Science) Module: Conflicts and Peacebuilding (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) Module: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | To pass the course and be awarded 3 ECTS, participants are required to perform the following: - Attend at least 9 of 12 seminar meetings and actively participate in plenary discussions. - Read two key readings that are provided on ADAM in preparation of each meeting. - Write and present an essay of ca. 2,000 words on a specific APSA institution or intervention in a seminar meeting. - Contribute to a group assignment and present the findings of the joint comparative analysis in the last two meetings. A detailed seminar programme, list of assignments, essay template and reading list will be shared at the beginning of the semester. Students may earn an additional 5 ECTS by writing a seminar paper on a relevant topic. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | 1-6 0,5 |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Departement Gesellschaftswissenschaften |