KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE COURSE PROPOSAL OR REVISION,
Cover Sheet (10/02/2002)
Course Number/Program Name INCM 9451/ International Conflict Management
Department College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Degree Title (if applicable) Ph.D. in International Conflict Management
Proposed Effective Date Spring 2012
Check one or more of the following and complete the appropriate sections:
X New Course Proposal
Course Title Change
Course Number Change
Course Credit Change
Course Prerequisite Change
Course Description Change
Sections to be Completed
II, III, IV, V, VII
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
Notes:
If proposed changes to an existing course are substantial (credit hours, title, and description), a new course with a
new number should be proposed.
A new Course Proposal (Sections II, III, IV, V, VII) is required for each new course proposed as part of a new
program. Current catalog information (Section I) is required for each existing course incorporated into the
program.
Minor changes to a course can use the simplified E-Z Course Change Form.
Submitted by:
Approved
Akanmu Adebayo
Faculty Member
9/21/11_____
Date
Not Approved
Department Curriculum Committee Date
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Not Approved
Department Chair
Date
College Curriculum Committee
Date
College Dean
Date
GPCC Chair
Date
Dean, Graduate College
Date
Not Approved
Not Approved
Not Approved
Not Approved
Not Approved
Vice President for Academic Affairs Date
Approved
Not Approved
President
Date
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE COURSE/CONCENTRATION/PROGRAM CHANGE
I.
Current Information (Fill in for changes)
Page Number in Current Catalog
___
Course Prefix and Number
___
Course Title
___
Class Hours
____Laboratory Hours_______Credit Hours________
Prerequisites
___
Description (or Current Degree Requirements)
II.
Proposed Information (Fill in for changes and new courses)
Course Prefix and Number __INCM 9451_______________________
Course Title _Conflicts in Africa__
___________
Class Hours
3 ____Laboratory Hours___0____CreditHours__3_____
Prerequisites INCM 9001 or INCM 9002
Description (or Proposed Degree Requirements)
This course investigates the origins, causes, resolution, and consequences of conflicts in contemporary
Africa in light of their postcolonial contexts. Among others, it examines ethnic/clan, religious, political, and
environmental conflict factors, demographic pressures on land and natural resources, discusses strategies
for conflict resolution and post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction, and evaluates the role of pancontinental and regional organizations, the United Nations and its agencies, Western powers and emerging
Asian powers (especially China) in African conflicts.
III.
Justification
There are many justifications for this course. Three of them are itemized here.
 First, the proposed course meets the requirements of the Ph.D. program by providing a broad survey
of conflicts in Africa. In a study commissioned by the World Bank and published in April 2000, the
prevalence of conflicts in Africa is clearly underscored as one of the major impediments to Africa’s
development. The study finds that, as of 2000, “at least one African in five lives in a country severely
disrupted by an ongoing war.”
 Second, by focusing on Africa, this course enables conflict management students to understand a
wide variety of conflicts and conflict resolution strategies in a very important region of the world.
While there is not one particular conflict unique to Africa, African societies have presented quite a
remarkable array of conflicts and conflict resolution styles. Hence, the continent is like a laboratory
where students can observe conflicts at various stages of development and conclusion.
 Third, this course provides students with a practical application in conflict analysis and design. A
major part of Africa’s challenges is the role of NGOs and INGOs in managing conflicts—from
humanitarian relief, refugee care and resettlement, to mediation and negotiation. This course enables
students to learn from these challenges and design more appropriate responses to conflicts.
IV.
Additional Information (for New Courses only)
Instructor: Dr. Akanmu Adebayo
Text: see syllabus
Prerequisites: INCM 9001 or INCM 9002
Objectives:
Students in this course will be able to:










Articulate and discuss the causes, courses and consequences of conflicts in contemporary Africa
Debate the various theoretical and conceptual approaches to understanding conflicts in Africa
Analyze and design appropriate policy interventions to prevent, manage and/or resolve conflicts
Articulate the various factors that cause and/or escalate violent conflicts in Africa, understand the
relative importance of those factors, and examine the potentials for certain types of conflicts in
certain types of countries/cultures
Develop a model on the economy (cost) of conflicts in Africa
Articulate the connections between violent conflicts and natural resources, environmental
degradation, population pressure, and governance
Develop a model that establishes connections among conflict, security, governance, and
development in African countries
Critique the significance of internal and external factors in the origin, escalation and resolution of
African conflicts
Analyze and critique policies affecting refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other victims
of violent conflicts in Africa, and explore solutions to these problems
Compile a catalog of violent conflicts in different African regions
Instructional Method
-lectures, guest lectures, discussion, book reviews, case studies, research
presentations
Method of Evaluation
Grades will be calculated as follows:
Class participation:
Book review:
Conflict case study paper:
Presentation of case study:
Research Paper:
V.
10%
20%
20%
20%
30%
Resources and Funding Required (New Courses only)
Resource
Amount
Faculty
Other Personnel
Equipment
Supplies
Travel
New Books
New Journals
Other (Specify)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
TOTAL
0
Funding Required Beyond
Normal Departmental Growth
0
VI. COURSE MASTER FORM
This form will be completed by the requesting department and will be sent to the Office of the
Registrar once the course has been approved by the Office of the President.
The form is required for all new courses.
DISCIPLINE
COURSE NUMBER
COURSE TITLE FOR LABEL
(Note: Limit 30 spaces)
CLASS-LAB-CREDIT HOURS
Approval, Effective Term
Grades Allowed (Regular or S/U)
If course used to satisfy CPC, what areas?
Learning Support Programs courses which are
required as prerequisites
INCM
9451
Conflicts in Africa
3-0-3
Spring 2012
Regular
APPROVED:
________________________________________________
Vice President for Academic Affairs or Designee __
VII Attach Syllabus
INCM 9451: Conflicts in Africa
Ph.D. Program in International Conflict Management
Kennesaw State University
I. Professor Contact Information
Dr. Akanmu G. Adebayo
Interim Director, Center for Conflict Management
Phone: 770-423-6646
Fax: 770-794-7685
Email: aadebayo@kennesaw.edu
Office hours: 1 hour before and after class; other times by appointment
II. Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions
INCM 9001 or INCM 9002
III. Course Description
This course investigates the origins, causes, resolution, and consequences of conflicts in contemporary
Africa in light of their postcolonial contexts. Among others, it examines ethnic/clan, religious, political,
and environmental conflict factors, demographic pressures on land and natural resources, discusses
strategies for conflict resolution and post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction, and evaluates the
role of pan-continental and regional organizations, the United Nations and its agencies, Western powers
and emerging Asian powers (especially China) in African conflicts.
IV. Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes
Students in this course will be able to:
 Articulate and discuss the causes, courses and consequences of conflicts in contemporary Africa
 Debate the various theoretical and conceptual approaches to understanding conflicts in Africa
 Analyze and design appropriate policy interventions to prevent, manage and/or resolve conflicts
 Articulate the various factors that cause and/or escalate violent conflicts in Africa, understand the
relative importance of those factors, and examine the potentials for certain types of conflicts in
certain types of countries/cultures
 Develop a model on the economy (cost) of conflicts in Africa
 Articulate the connections between violent conflicts and natural resources, environmental
degradation, population pressure, and governance
 Develop a model that establishes connections among conflict, security, governance, and
development in African countries
 Critique the significance of internal and external factors in the origin, escalation and resolution of
African conflicts
 Analyze and critique policies affecting refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other victims
of violent conflicts in Africa, and explore solutions to these problems
 Compile a catalog of violent conflicts in different African regions
V. Textbooks and Materials
Required Textbooks:
Paul D. Williams, War and Conflict in Africa, (Polity Press, 2011).
Abiodun Alao, Natural Resources and Conflict in Africa: The Tragedy of Endowment (University of
Rochester Press, 2007)
Francis M. Deng, Sadikiel Kimaro, Terrence Lyons, Donald Rothchild, and I. William Zartman, Sovereignty
as Responsibility: Conflict Management in Africa (Brookings, 1996)
Adu Boahen, African Perspectives on Colonialism (John Hopkins, 1989)
African Union, Constitutive Act of the African Union, 2001
Afrobarometer Series online at http://www.afrobarometer.org/
Selection of Additional Readings (to be expanded):
Donald Rothchild, Managing Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Pressures and Incentives for Cooperation
(Brookings, 1997).
Greg Campbell, Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World’s Most Precious Stones (Basic
Books, 2004).
Matthias Basedau, Gero Erdmann and Andreas Mehler, Votes, Money and Violence: Political Parties and
Election in Sub-Saharan Africa (Nordic Africa Institute, 2007)
Robert I. Rotberg, When States Fail: Causes and Consequences (Princeton, 2003)
Douglas H. Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars (James Currey, 2003)
Samuel Decalo, Coups and Army Rule in Africa: Motivations and Constraints, Second Edition (Yale, 1990)
Timothy Sisk and Andrew Reynolds, Elections and Conflict Management in Africa (USIP, 1998)
David R. Smock and Chester A. Crocker, African Conflict Resolution: The U.S. Role in Peacemaking (USIP,
1995).
Additional readings may be assigned as current events suggest classroom discussion on specific topical
issues.
VI. Schedule of Class Meetings/Presentations
Week 1
Overview of conflicts in Africa—theoretical/conceptual discourses
Readings
Philippe Bocquier and Hervé Maupeu, “Analysing Low Intensity Conflict in Africa Using Press Reports,”
European Journal of Population / Revue Européenne de Démographie, Vol. 21, No. 2/3, The
Demography of Conflict and Violence / La démographie du conflit et de la violence (Jun., 2005),
pp. 321-345
Jean-Paul Azam, “The Redistributive State and Conflicts in Africa,” Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 38,
No. 4 (Jul., 2001), pp. 429-444
Gorm Rye Olsen, “European Public Opinion and Aid to Africa: Is There a Link?” The Journal of Modern
African Studies Vol. 39, No. 4 (Dec., 2001), pp. 645-674
Week 2
African conflicts in comparative contexts (How are African conflicts theoretically and
conceptually similar to and different from conflicts in other parts of the world?)
Readings
Anja Nygren, “Violent Conflicts and Threatened Lives: Nicaraguan Experiences of Wartime Displacement
and Postwar Distress,” Journal of Latin American Studies Vol. 35, No. 2 (May, 2003), pp. 367-393
Bishnu Raj Upreti, “Resource Conflicts and Conflict Resolution in Nepal,” Mountain Research and
Development Vol. 24, No. 1 (Feb., 2004), pp. 60-66
Yahya Sadowski, “Ethnic Conflict,” Foreign Policy, No. 111 (Summer, 1998), pp. 12-23
Week 3
Historical foundations and chronology of conflicts I: imperialism, nationalism and
violent decolonization
Readings
Adu Boahen, African Perspectives on Colonialism
Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
Aime Cesaire, Discourse on Colonialism
David Birmingham, The Decolonization of Africa (Ohio University Press, 1996)
Caroline Elkins, Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain’s Gulag in Kenya (Owl Books, 2005)
Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 (NYRB Classics, 2006)
Norrie MacQueen, The Decolonization of Portuguese Africa: Metropolitan Revolution and the Dissolution
of Empire (Addison, 1997)
Week 4
Historical foundations and chronology of conflicts II: Postcolonialism, coups and military
intervention, state collapse, restoration of multiparty democracy and electoral violence
Readings
Samuel Decalo, Coups and Army Rule in Africa
Paul Collier, Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places (Harper, 2009)
Robert H. Bates, When Things Fell Apart: State Failure in Late-Century Africa (Cambridge, 2008)
Week 5
Indices for analyzing conflicts in Africa I: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches
Readings
Afrobarometer Series online at http://www.afrobarometer.org/ (focus on methodology)
Shaheen Mozaffar, “Patterns of Electoral Governance in Africa's Emerging Democracies,” International
Political Science Review / Revue internationale de science politique, Vol. 23, No. 1,
Electoral Governance and Democratization. Gouvernance électorale et démocratisation
(Jan., 2002), pp. 85-101
Paul M. Lubeck, “The Crisis of African Development: Conflicting Interpretations and Resolutions,” Annual
Review of Sociology, Vol. 18, (1992), pp. 519-540
Week 6
Indices for analyzing conflicts in Africa II: Leadership and governance, environmental
factors, natural resources
Readings
Paul D. Williams, War and Conflict in Africa, chapters 3, 4, 5
Greg Campbell, Blood Diamonds
Abiodun Alao, Natural Resources and Conflict in Africa
Deng et al, Sovereignty as Responsibility, chapter 2
Week 7
Indices for analyzing conflicts in Africa III: Ethnicity, economic issues and
underdevelopment, gender, religious pluralism, etc.
Readings
Paul D. Williams, War and Conflict in Africa, chapters 5, 6
Deng et al, Sovereignty as Responsibility, chapters 3, 4
Jonathan Kirshner, “Political Economy in Security Studies after the Cold War” Review of International
Political Economy, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring, 1998), pp. 64-91
Donald Rothchild, Managing Ethnic Conflict in Africa
Okwudiba Nnoli, Ethnic Conflicts in Africa (African Books Collective, 2000)
Donald Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict (University of California, 2000)
Egodi Uchendu, Women and Conflict in the Nigerian Civil War (Africa World Press, 2007)
Cynthia J. Arnson and I. William Zartman, eds., Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of
Need, Creed, and Greed (Johns Hopkins, 2005)
Week 8
Participants in conflicts: African military, mercenaries, rebels, militants, terrorists, etc.
Readings
Jessica Schafer, Soldiers at Peace: Veterans of the Civil War in Mozambique (Pelgrave MacMillan, 2007)
Paul D. Williams, War and Conflict in Africa, chapter 8
Adam Roberts, The Wonga Coup: Guns, Thugs, and a Ruthless Determination to Create Mayhem in an
Oil-Rich Corner of Africa (PublicAffairs, 2007)
James Brabazon, My Friend the Mercenary (Grove Press, 2010)
Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008)
Week 9
Cold war, post-cold war, coups d’etat, weapons, and African conflicts
Readings
Charles Piot, Nostalgia for the Future: West Africa after the Cold War (University of Chicago Press, 2010)
V.G. Shubin, The Hot ‘Cold War’: The USSR in Southern Africa (Pluto Press, 2008)
Sergey Mazov, A Distant Front in the Cold War: The USSR in West Africa and the Congo, 1956-1964
(Stanford, 2010)
James Ciment, Angola and Mozambique: Postcolonial Wars in Southern Africa (Facts on File, 1997)
David F. Gordon et al, The United States and Africa: A Post-Cold War Perspective (Norton, 1998)
Kennedy Mkutu, Guns and Governance in the Rift Valley: Pastoralist Conflict and Small Arms (Indiana
University Press, 2008)
Larry Kahaner, AK-47: The Weapon that Changed the Face of War (Wiley 2007)
Week 10
Civil wars and genocidal conflicts: Refugees, IDPs, child soldiers, human rights
violations, health issues
Readings
Timothy J. Hatton and Jeffrey G. Williamson, “Demographic and Economic Pressure on Emigration out of
Africa” The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Vol. 105, No. 3, Population Dynamics and
Macroeconomic Performance (Sep., 2003), pp. 465-486
Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Alcinda Honwana, Child Soldiers in Africa (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007)
J. Peter Pham, Child Soldiers, Adult Interests: The Global Dimensions of the Sierra Leonean Tragedy (Nova
Science Pub Inc, 2005)
Gaim Kibreab, Refugees and Development in Africa: The Case of Eritrea (Red Sea Press, 1987)
James H.S. Milner, Refugees, the State and the Politics of Asylum in Africa (Pelgrave Macmillan, 2009)
Week 11
Regional theaters I: Northern, Eastern, and Western Africa
Readings
Gani J. Yoroms, “ECOMOG and West African Regional Security: A Nigerian Perspective” Issue: A Journal
of Opinion, Vol. 21, No. 1/2 (1993), pp. 84-91
Danny Hoffman, “Disagreement: Dissent Politics and the War in Sierra Leone” Africa Today, Vol. 52, No.
3 (Spring, 2006), pp. 3-22
Mark Huband, The Liberian War (Routledge, 1998)
Deng et al, Sovereignty as Responsibility, chapter 5
Robin Luckham and Dawit Bekele, “Foreign Powers and Militarism in the Horn of Africa: Part I” Review of
African Political Economy, No. 30, Conflict in the Horn of Africa (Sep., 1984), pp. 8-20
Lionel Cliffe, “Regional Dimensions of Conflict in the Horn of Africa” Third World Quarterly, Vol. 20, No.
1, Complex Political Emergencies (Feb., 1999), pp. 89-111
Assefaw Bariagaber, “States, International Organisations and the Refugee: Reflections on the Complexity
of Managing the Refugee Crisis in the Horn of Africa” The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol.
37, No. 4 (Dec., 1999), pp. 597-619
Week 12
Regional theaters II: Central and Southern Africa
Readings
Deng et al, Sovereignty as Responsibility, chapter 5
Philip Verwimp, “Death and Survival during the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda” Population Studies, Vol. 58,
No. 2 (Jul., 2004), pp. 233-245
Marijke Verpoorten, “The Death Toll of the Rwandan Genocide: A Detailed Analysis for Gikongoro
Province” Population, Vol. 60, No. 4 (Jul. - Aug., 2005), pp. 331-367
Gerard Prunier, Africa’s World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental
Catastrophe (Oxford University Press, 2011)
James L. Gibson, “The Contributions of Truth to Reconciliation: Lessons from South Africa,” The Journal
of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 50, No. 3, Transitional Justice (Jun., 2006), pp. 409-432
Neil H. Thomas, “Land Reform in Zimbabwe,” Third World Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Aug., 2003), pp. 691712
Sandra J. Maclean, “Mugabe at War: The Political Economy of Conflict in Zimbabwe,” Third World
Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jun., 2002), pp. 513-528
Sam Moyo and Paris Yeros, “The Radicalised State: Zimbabwe’s Interrupted Revolution,” Review of
African Political Economy, Vol. 34, No. 111, Debates on the Left in Southern Africa (Mar., 2007),
pp. 103-121
Week 13
Peacemakers and peacemaking, peacekeepers and peacekeeping: “African solutions”
and foreign intervention (Traditional peacemaking in Africa, foreign intervention and
mediation, the role of the African Union, ECOMOG, etc.; the role of the US, EU, Russia,
China, etc.), Post-conflict peace-building and reconstruction
Readings
Deng et al, Sovereignty as Responsibility, chapter 6
Paul D. Williams, War and Conflict in Africa, chapters 9, 10, 11
Herbert Howe, “Lessons of Liberia: ECOMOG and Regional Peacekeeping” International Security, Vol. 21,
No. 3 (Winter, 1996-1997), pp. 145-176
Funmi Olonisakin, Reinventing Peacekeeping in Africa:Conceptual and Legal Issues in ECOMOG
Operations (Springer, 2000)
I. William Zartman, ed., Traditional Cures for Modern Conflicts: African Conflict “Medicine” (Lynne
Rienner, 1999).
Fabrizio Carmignani and Adrian Gauci, Peace After Civil War: The Role of Fiscal Policy in Post-Conflict
African Economies (Nova Science Pub Inc, 2011)
Pierre Englebert and Denis M. Tull, “Postconflict Reconstruction in Africa: Flawed Ideas about Failed
States” International Security, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Spring, 2008), pp. 106-139
Michael J. Matheson, “United Nations Governance of Postconflict Societies” The American Journal of
International Law, Vol. 95, No. 1 (Jan., 2001), pp. 76-85
John Stremlau, “Ending Africa’s Wars” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 79, No. 4 (Jul. - Aug., 2000), pp. 117-132
Week 14
Week 15
Presentations
Presentations
VII. Grading Policy
Grades will be calculated as follows:
Class participation:
Book review:
Conflict case study paper:
Presentation of case study:
Research Paper:
10%
20%
20%
20%
30%
Grading Scale:
A = 90% - 100%
B = 80% - 89%
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% – 69%
F = < 60%
VIII. Academic Integrity
Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as
published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct
addresses the University’s policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and
cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University
records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials,
malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification
cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of
the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an “informal” resolution by a faculty member,
resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code
of Conduct’s minimum one semester suspension requirement.
IX. ADA Statement
Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to
meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to arrange the
necessary accommodations. Students should present appropriate verification from KSU disAbled
Student Support Services. No requirement exists that accommodations be made prior to completion of
this approved University process. Accommodations are arranged on an individualized, as-needed basis
after the needs and circumstances have been evaluated. The following individuals have been
designated by the President of the University to provide assistance and ensure compliance with the
ADA. Should you require assistance or have further questions about the ADA, please contact:
Carol Pope, Asst. Dir. for disAbled Student Support Services
770-423-6443, 770-423-6667F, 770-423-6480TTY
cpope@kennesaw.edu
disAbled Student Support Services Website
http://www.kennesaw.edu/stu_dev/dsss/dsss.html