POL15: The Politics of Africa

The Politics of Africa explores the rich and diverse politics of this century's fastest growing continent (in population terms). From the past to the present, it probes the domestic and international factors that have influenced the social, economic and political trajectories of African states and citizenries. Bringing a multi-disciplinary and perspectival approach to political studies, students will consider how the study of Africa can challenge ways of understanding politics that have been grounded primarily in the western experience, as well as how discourses on ‘Africa’ or ‘the global South’ relate to the economic, strategic and ideological projects of those who shape and deploy them. Students are also encouraged to understand political experience through the agency, thought and voices of African peoples and political actors, alongside the powerful external knowledge-creators and actors working on the continent from colonialism until the present day.

The course is taught thematically, examining central themes such as state formation and political organisation, state and society relations, violence and war, identity and ideology, mobilisation and authority, economic development, global political order, resistance and struggle, etc, through historical and contemporary lenses. Students develop case study knowledge of the diverse range of African countries’ experiences through readings, essays and classes.

The paper’s core themes are covered in Michaelmas Term, commencing with a critical reflection on where 'Africa’ fits into world politics. We consider the continuities and changes in Africa’s position in the global order, from European colonialism through independence and the Cold War, to development, humanitarian and security agendas in recent decades, the rise of China and the emergence of south-south solidarity. This understanding of the international context frames our analysis of the history of state formation and development on the continent, looking at precolonial and colonial systems of rule, the ideologies and strategies of anti-colonial struggle, and their legacies in post-independence politics. We probe into the nature of political authority, mobilisation and legitimacy in independent Africa, and how these relate to different forms of political participation and authority, order and disorder: one-party rule, multiparty democracy, popular protest and conflict. In Lent Term, the paper explores more contemporary themes in-depth, in the form of three modules comprising four lectures each. These modules vary from year to year, in 2024-25 they were focused on African political thought, environmental politics, and African politics in a digital age.

Selected readings:

• Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (APenguin, 1961)
• Mahmood Mamdani, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism (Princeton University Press, 1996).
• Nanjala Nyabola, Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How The Internet Era Is Transforming Kenya (Zed Books, 2018)

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