Introductory description

The module would offer historical, theoretical and comparative perspectives on the politics of eastern Africa (and in particular Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda). The course will seek to address some of the ‘big questions’ regarding the nature of the post-colonial state in the region, the relationship between state and society, the political and socio-economic impact of international aid/interventions, the causes and level of democratisation, and political economy of crises such as famine and AIDS. Students should acquire an overview of key themes, but also be able to analyse debates with respect to individual country case studies.

NB: A number of important topics – such as the Rwandan genocide, civil war etc – are not covered to minimise overlap with PO390: Violence and Reconciliation in Eastern Africa.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

1. Introduction

2. Nature of the colonial state

3. Colonialism and the invention of tribe

4. One-party states

5. Military coups and regimes

6. Reading week

7. Neo-patrimonialism and personal rule

8. Donors and development

9. Democratisation

10. Liberation movements and their legacies

11. Multi-party politics & the “menu of manipulation”

12. Turnout and voting patterns: Elections as an ethnic census?

13. Corruption

14. Civil society

15. Religion and neo-Pentecostalism

16. Reading week

17. Women in parliament

18. The politics of famine

19. China in East Africa

20. The war on terror

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand and apply different theories to the East African context.
• Develop your reading comprehension through an engagement with core texts
• Develop an argument using a range of sources, including secondary literature, newspaper articles, and government and non-government reports
• Develop your academic writing skills through the preparation of summative assessments
• Develop an ability to write analytically for a non-academic audience through the writing of an opinion piece or blog
• Develop your group working skills through seminar discussions

Indicative reading list

1. Illustrative Bibliography

NB: This is a NOT a comprehensive reading list and the final reading list will include more East African voices. This will include academic books and journal articles (including some of those listed below) as well as newspaper articles, blogs, songs and poems.

1. Introduction
   Allen, C. (1995) Understanding African politics. Review of African Political Economy 65: 301-320
   Mamdani, M. (1997) Citizen and subject: Decentralized despotism and the legacy of late colonialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press
   Mbembe, A. (2001) On the postcolony. Berekely: University of California Press
   wa Thiong’o, N. (1982) Devil on the Cross

2. Nature of the colonial state
   Berman, B. (1990) Control and Crisis in Colonial Kenya: The Dialectic of Domination. Oxford: James Currey. (Particularly the Introduction)
   Branch, D. & N. Cheeseman (2006) The Politics of Control in Kenya: Understanding the Bureaucratic-Executive State. Review of African Political Economy 33 (107): 11-31
   Fanon, F. (1965) The wretched of the earth
   Lonsdale, J. & B. Berman (1979) Coping with the contradictions: the development of the colonial state in Kenya. Journal of African History 20 (4): 487-505
   Mamdani, M. (1997) Citizen and subject: Decentralized despotism and the legacy of late colonialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press (chapters 2 & 3)
   Samatar, A. I. 1992. Destruction of state and society in Somalia: Beyond the tribal convention. Journal of Modern African Studies 30(4): 625-641.

3. Colonialism and the invention of “tribe”
   Africa Action, Talking about "Tribe" - Moving from Stereotypes to Analysis
   Ake, C. 1993. “What is the Problem of Ethnicity in Africa.” Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa.22: 1-14
   Berman, B. (1998) Politics of Uncivil Nationalism: Ethnicity, Patronage and the African State. African Affairs 97: 305-341
   Ekeh, P. (1975) Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement. Comparative Studies in Society and History 17: 91-112
   Ekeh, P.P. 1990. “Social Anthropology and Two Contrasting Uses of Tribalism in Africa.” Comparative Studies in Society and History32(04): 660-700.
   Iliffe, J. (1979) A Modern History of Tanganyika. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 10)
   Lonsdale, J. (1994) Moral Ethnicity and Political Tribalism. In P. Kaarsholm and J. Huttin (eds) Inventions and Boundaries. Roskilde: Roskilde University
   Lynch, G. (2006) Negotiating Ethnicity: Identity Politics in Contemporary Kenya. Review of African Political Economy 33 (107): 49-65
   Lynch, G. (2011) I say to you: Ethnic politics and the Kalenjin in Kenya. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (Introduction)
   Mafeje, A. (1971) The Ideology of ‘Tribalism. The Journal of Modern African Studies 9 (2): 253-261
   Mamdani, M. (1996) Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism. London: James Currey. (Conclusions)
   Mahmood, M. 2001. “Beyond Settler and Native as Political Identities: Overcoming the Political Legacy of Colonialism.” Comparative Studies in Society and History43(4): 651–64
   Ranger, T. (1983; 1992) The Invention of Tradition in Colonial Africa. In E. Hobsbawn & T. Ranger (eds) The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
   Ranger, T. (1993) The Invention of Tradition Revisited. In T. Ranger & O. Vaughan (eds) Legitimacy and the State in Twentieth Century Africa. Basingstoke: Macmillan
   Southall, A. (1970) The Illusion of Tribe. In P. Gutkind (ed.) The Passing of Tribal Man in Africa. Leiden: Brill
   Spear, Thomas. "Neo-traditionalism and the limits of invention in British colonial Africa." The Journal of African History 44.01 (2003): 3-27

4. One-party states
   Case studies - Kenya:
   Anyang’ Nyong’o, P. (1989) State and Society in Kenya: The Disintegration of the Nationalist Coalitions and the Rise of Presidential Authoritarianism, 1963-78. African Affairs 88 (351): 229-251
   Atieno-Odhiambo, E. S. (1987) The ideology of order. In Michael Schatzberg (ed) The Political Economy of Kenya. New York, NY: Praeger Publishers.
   Barkan, J. & J. Okumu (1978) ‘Semi-competitive’ Elections, Clientelism, and Political Recruitment in a No-party State: The Kenyan Experience. In G. Hermet, R. Rose & A. Rouquie (eds) Elections without Choice. London: Macmillan Press
   Barkan, J.D. & J. Okumu (1978) 'Semi-competitive elections', clientelism, and political recruitment in a no-party state: the Kenyan experience. In Elections without choice, edited by G. Hermet, R. Rose and A. Rouquiâe. London: Macmillan
   Hyden, G. and C. Leys (1972) Elections and Politics in Single-Party states: the case of Kenya and Tanzania. British Journal of Political Science 1(2): 389-420
   Mboya, T., 1970. The challenge of nationhood: a collection of speeches and writings
   Mueller, S. (1984) Government and Opposition in Kenya, 1966-9. The Journal of Modern African Studies 22 (3): 399-427
   Muigai, G. (2003) Jomo Kenyatta and the Rise of the Ethno-Nationalist State in Kenya. In B. Berman, D. Eyoh & W. Kymlicka (eds) Ethnicity and democracy in Africa. Oxford: James Currey
   Odinga, O. (1967) Not Yet Uhuru: The Autobiography of Oginga Odinga.
   Tamarkin, M. (1978) The Roots of Political Stability in Kenya. African Affairs 77 (308): 297-320
   Throup, D. (1987) The Construction and Destruction of the Kenyatta State. In M. Schatzberg (ed.) The Political Economy of Kenya. London: Praeger
   Widner, J. (1992) Rise of a Party-State in Kenya: From Harambee! To Nyayo! California: University of California Press

Tanzania:
Baregu, Mwesiga. "The rise and fall of the one-party state in Tanzania." Economic change and political liberalization in sub-saharan Africa (1994): 158-81
Barkan, J. (ed.) (1994) Beyond Capitalism vs. Socialism in Kenya and Tanzania. Boulder: Lynne Reinner Publishers
Bienen, H. (1967) The ruling party in the African one-party state: TANU in Tanzania. Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies 5 (3): 214-230
Cliffe, L. (1967) One party democracy: the 1965 Tanzania general elections. Nairobi: East African Publishing House
Hayward, F. M. (1987) Elections in independent Africa. Boulder: Westview Press. (Chapter on Tanzania)
Hyden, G. & C. Leys (1972) Elections and Politics in single-party states: the case of Kenya and Tanzania. British Journal of Political Science 2 (4): 389-420.
Iliffe, J. (1979) A Modern History of Tanganyika. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 16)
Mc Auslan, J. & Y. Ghai (1966) Constitutional Innovation and Political Stability in Tanzania: a preliminary assessment. Journal of Modern African Studies 4 (4): 479-515
Nyerere, Julius. “One Party Government”. Transition 2 (1961), pp. 9-11.
Nyerere, J. K. (1967) Democracy and the Party System. In J. K. Nyerere (ed) Freedom and unity = Uhuru na umoja : a selection from writings and speeches, 1952-65. London: Oxford University Press

1. Military coups and regimes
   Beckman, B. (1987) The Military as Revolutionary Vanguard. Review of African Political Economy 37: 50-62
   Bienen, H. (1985) Populist Military Regimes in Africa. Armed Forces and Society 11(3): 357-377
   Brett, E. (1995) Neutralising the use of force in Uganda: role of the military in politics. Journal of Modern African Studies 33(1): 129-152
   Clark, J. F. (2007) The decline of the military coup. Journal of Democracy 18 (3): 141-155
   Crocker, Chester A. "Military dependence: The colonial legacy in Africa." The Journal of Modern African Studies 12.02 (1974): 265-286
   Decalo, S. (1973) Military coups and military regimes in Africa. Journal of Modern African Studies 11: 105-127
   Jackman, R. (1986) Explaining African Coups d'Etat. American Political Science Review 80 (1)
   Jenkins, J. C. (1990) Explaining military coups d’etat: Black Africa, 1957-1984. American Sociological Review 55 (6)
   Jenkins, J. C. and Kposowa, A. (1992) The political origins of African military coups: ethnic competition, military centrality and the struggle over the post-colonial state. International Studies Quarterly 36 (3)
   Johnson, T., Slater, R. and McGowan, P. (1984) Explaining African Military Coups d'Etat. American Political Science Review 78: 622-640.
   Luckham, R. (1994) The military, militarization, and democratization in Africa: A survey of literature and issues. African Studies Quarterly 37 (2): 13-75
   McGowan, P. & T. H. Johnson (1984) African military coups d’etat and underdevelopment: A quantitiative historical analysis. Journal of Modern African Studies 22: 633-66
   McGowan, P. (2003) African military coups d'etat, 1956-2001: frequency, trends and distribution. Journal of Modern African Studies
   Mwenda, A. and R. Tangri. 2003. “Military Corruption & Ugandan Politics since the late 1990s” in Review of African Political Economy, 30:98, pp. 539-552

2. Reading week

3. Neo-patrimonialism
   Bach, D. (2011) Patrimonialism & neopatrimonialism: comparative trajectories and readings, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 49(3), 275-294
   Bayart, J-F. (1993) The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly. London: Longman (Chapter 9)
   Berman, B. (1998) Ethnicity, patronage, and the African state. African Affairs 97: 305-341
   Booth, D. & F. Golooba-Mutebi (2012) Developmental Patrimonialism? The Case of Rwanda. African Affairs111:444, 379 –403
   Bratton, M. & N. van de Walle (1997) Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 2)
   Ekeh, P. (1975) Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement. Comparative Studies in Society and History 17: 91-112
   Mkandawire, T. (2013) Neopatrimonialism and the political economy of economic performance in Africa: Critical reflections. World Politics 67(3): 563-612
   Pitcher, Anne, Mary H. Moran, and Michael Johnston. "Rethinking patrimonialism and neopatrimonialism in Africa." African Studies Review 52.1 (2009): 125-156
   Posner, D. & D. Young (2007) The institutionalization of political power in Africa. Journal of Democracy 18 (3): 126-140
   Wai, Z. (2012) Neo-patrimonialism and the discourse of state failure in Africa. Review of African Political Economy 39 (131): 27-44

4. Donors and development
   Arrighi, G. (2002) The African crisis. World systemic and regional aspects. New Left Review, 15: 5-36
   Bangura, Y. (1995) Perspectives on the politics of structural adjustment, informalisation and political change in Africa. In T. Mkandawire & A. Olukoshi (eds) Between Liberalisation and Oppression. Dakar: Codesria
   Bracking, S. (1999) Structural adjustment: why it wasn’t necessary and why it did work. Review of African Political Economy 26 (80): 207-26
   Lugalla, J. (1995) The impact of SAPs on women’s and children’s health in Tanzania. Review of African Political Economy 22 (63): 43-53
   Mamdani, M. (1990) Uganda - contradictions of the IMF programme and perspective. Development and Change 21 (3): 427-467
   Parfitt, T. (1990) Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics: The World Bank/ECA structural adjustment controversy. Review of African Political Economy 47: 128-141
   van de Walle, N. (2001) African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979-1999. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapters 1, 2 & 7)
   Williams, G. (1994) Why structural adjustment is necessary and why it doesn’t work. Review of African Political Economy 60: 214-25
   World Bank (1981) Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington: World Bank
   World Bank (1989) Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth. Washington: World Bank
   World Bank (1994) Adjustment in Africa: Reforms, Results and the Road Ahead. Washington: World Bank

5. Democratisation
   Ake, C. 2000. The Feasibility of Democracy in Africa. African Books Collective
   Baylies, C. (1995) Political conditionality and democratisation in Africa. Review of African Political Economy 22 (65): 321-357
   Bratton, M. & N. van de Walle (1992) Popular protest and political reform in Africa. Comparative Politics 24 (4)
   Bratton, M. and N. van de Walle (1994) Neo-patrimonial regimes and political transitions in Africa. World Politics 46 (4): 453-489
   Hyden, G. (1999) Top-down democratization in Tanzania. Journal of Democracy 10 (4)
   Makara, S., L. Rakner & L. Svåsand (2009) Turnaround: The National Resistance Movement and the reintroduction of a multiparty system in Uganda. International Political Science Review 30 (2): 185-204
   Ngasongwa, J. (1992) Tanzania introduces a multi-party system. Review of African Political Economy 19 (54): 112-116
   Olukoshi, A. (ed.) (1998) The Politics of Opposition in Africa. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
   Throup, D. (2019) The etat c’est Moi. In N. Cheeseman, K. Karuti and G. Lynch (eds) Oxford Handbook of Kenyan politics. Oxford: OUP

6. Liberation movements and their legacy
   Beresford, A., Berry, M. E., & Mann, L. (2018). Liberation movements and stalled democratic transitions: reproducing power in Rwanda and South Africa through productive liminality. Democratization, 1-20.
   Dorman, S. R. (2006). Post-liberation politics in Africa: Examining the political legacy of struggle. Third World Quarterly, 27(6), 1085-1101.
   Matfess, H. (2015). Rwanda and Ethiopia: Developmental authoritarianism and the new politics of African strong men. African Studies Review, 58(2), 181-204.
   Mohamed Salih, M. A. (2007). African liberation movement governments and democracy. Democratization, 14(4), 669-685.
   Reyntjens, F. (2006). Post-1994 Politics in Rwanda: problematising ‘liberation’and ‘democratisation’. Third World Quarterly, 27(6), 1103-1117.
   Tripp, A. M. (2004). The changing face of authoritarianism in Africa: The case of Uganda. Africa Today, 3-26.

7. Multi-party politics and the “menu of manipulation”:
   Adebanwi, Wale, and Ebenezer Obadare (2011) “The Abrogation of the Electorate: An Emergent African Phenomenon”. Democratization 18, (2): 275–310.
   Barkan, J. D. (2008) Legislatures on the rise? Journal of Democracy 19 (2): 124-137
   Bratton, M. & N. van de Walle (1997) Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 7)
   Brown, S. (2001) Authoritarian leaders and multiparty elections in Africa: how foreign donors help to keep Kenya’s Daniel arap Moi in power. Third World Quarterly 22 (5): 725-39.
   Cheeseman, Nic (2010) “African elections as vehicles for change.” Journal of Democracy 21 (4): 139-153
   Cheeseman, Nic & Brian Klaas (2018) How to Rig an Election. New Haven: Yale University Press.
   Levitsky, S. & L. Way (2002) The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism. Journal of Democracy 13 (2): 51-65
   Lindberg, S. (2006) The Surprising Significance of African Elections. Journal of Democracy 17 (1): 121.
   Lynch, G. G. Crawford (2011) Democratization in Africa 1990-2010 – an assessment. Democratization 18 (2): 275-310
   Monga, C. (1997) Eight problems with African politics. Journal of Democracy 8 (3): 156-170
   Murunga, G. 2002. “A Critical Look at Kenya’s Non-transition to Democracy.” Journal of Third World Studies.19(2): 89
   Mwenda, A.M. & R. Tangri (2005) Patronage Politics, Donor Reforms, and Regime Consolidation in Uganda. African Affairs 104: (416): 449-467
   Mwenda, A. (2007) Personalizing power in Uganda. Journal of Democracy 18: 23-37
   Ndegwa, Stephen N. 2003. “Kenya: Third Time Lucky?.” Journal of Democracy. 14(3): 145-158.
   Osaghae, Eghosa (1999) “Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Faltering Prospects, New
   Hopes”. Journal of Contemporary African Studies 17: 5–28.
   Posner, D. & D. Young (2007) The Institutionalization of Political Power in Africa. Journal of Democracy 18 (3): 126-140
   Prempeh, H. K. 2008. “Presidents Untamed.” Journal of Democracy.19(2):109-123
   Schedler, A. (2002) Elections without Democracy: The Menu of Manipulation. Journal of Democracy 13: (2): 36-50.
   Schedler, Andreas. "The nested game of democratization by elections." International Political Science Review 23.1 (2002): 103-122
   Ugochukwu Nwosu B. 2012. ‘Tracks of the Third Wave: Democracy Theory, Democratisation and the Dilemma of Political Succession in Africa’. Review of African Political Economy. 39(131): 11-25
   Van Ham, C. and Steffan I. Lindberg (2018) “Elections: The Power of Elections in Multiparty Africa”, in Nic Cheeseman (ed.) Institutions and Democracy in Africa: How the rules of the game shape political developments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
   Zakaria, F. (1997) The Rise of Illiberal Democracy. Foreign Affairs 76 (6): 22-44

8. Voting patterns: Elections as an ethnic census?
   Atieno-Odhiambo, E. S. (2002). Hegemonic enterprises and instrumentalities of survival: Ethnicity and democracy in Kenya. African Studies, 61(2), 223-249.
   Barkan, J. (1976) Comment: Further Reassessment of “Conventional Wisdom”: Political Knowledge and Voting Behaviour in Rural Kenya. American Political Science Review 70 (2): 452-455
   Bratton, M (ed) Voting and Democratic Citizenship in Africa. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner (esp. Chapter 1 available at: https://www.rienner.com/uploads/50ec61134634c.pdf)
   Conroy-Kratz, Jeffrey & Carolyn Logan (2012) Museveni and the 2011 Ugandan election: Did the money matter? Journal of Modern African Studies 50 (4): 625-655
   Koter, D. (2019) Ethnic Politics. In G. Lynch & P. Von Doepp (eds) Democratization in Africa. Abingdon: Routledge
   Long, J. (2019) Voting Behaviour. In G. Lynch & P. Von Doepp (eds) Democratization in Africa. Abingdon: Routledge
   Lynch, G. (2008) Courting the Kalenjin: The Failure of Dynasticism and the Strength of the ODM Wave in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province. African Affairs 107 (429): 541-568
   Lynch, G. (2011) I say to you: Ethnic politics and the Kalenjin in Kenya. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (Introduction)
   Lynch, G. (2014) Electing the “Alliance of the Accused”: The success of the Jubilee Alliance in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province. Journal of Eastern African Studies 8 (1): 93-114
   Melson, R. & H. Wolpe (1970) Modernization and the Politics of Communalism: A Theoretical Perspective. American Political Science Review, 64: 4
   Oloo, A. (2000) “From FORD-K to NDP: Political Mobilization in Luoland.” L’Afrique Orientale: 351–94.
   Oloo, A. (2001) “Patronising the Incumbent: Kalenjin Unity in the 1997 Kenya General Elections.” In Out for the Count: The 1997 General Elections and Prospects for Democ- racy in Kenya, edited by M. Rutten, A. Mazrui, and F. Grignon. Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
   Posner, D. (2005) Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

9. Corruption
   Bachelard, J. (2010) The Anglo-Leasing Corruption Scandal in Kenya: The Politics of International and Domestic Pressures and Counter-Pressures. Review of African Political Economy 37 (124): 187-200
   Bayart. J-F., S. Ellis & B. Hibou (1999) The Criminalisation of the State in Africa. London: James Currey
   Chabal, P. & J-P Daloz (1999) Africa Works: Disorder as a political instrument. London: James Currey
   D’Arcy, M. & A. Cornell (2016) Devolution and corruption in Kenya: Everyone’s turn to eat? African Affairs 115 (459): 246-273
   De Sardan, J. (1999) A Moral Economy of Corruption in Africa? The Journal of Modern African Studies 37 (1): 25-52
   Ekeh, P. (1975) Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement. Comparative Studies in Society and History 17: 91-112
   Githongo. J. (2019) Corruption. In N. Cheeseman, G. Lynch & K. Kanyinga (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Kenyan Politics. Oxford: OUP
   Gray, H. (2015) The political economy of grand corruption in Tanzania. African Affairs 114 (456): 382-403
   Harrington, J. & A. Manji (2012) Satire and the Politics of Corruption in Africa. Socio & Legal Studies: 1-21
   Mwenda, A. & R. Tangri (2001) Corruption and cronyism in Uganda’s privatization in the 1990s. African Affairs 100: 117-33
   Mwenda, A. & R. Tangri (2005) Patronage politics, donor reforms, and regime consolidation in Uganda. African Affairs 104 (416): 449-467
   Szetel, M. (1998) Misunderstanding African politics: corruption and the governance agenda. Review of African Political Economy 25 (76): 221-40
   Szeftel, M. (2000) Between governance and underdevelopment: accumulation and Africa’s ‘catastropic’ corruption. Review of African Political Economy 27 (84): 287-306
   Tangri, R. & A. Mwenda (2003) Military corruption and Ugandan politics since the late 1990s. Review of African Political Economy 30 (98): 539-552
   Tangri, R., and A. M. Mwenda. 2006. Politics, Donors and the Ineffectiveness of Anti-corruption Institutions in Uganda. The Journal of Modern African Studies. 44(01): 101-124

10. Civil society
    Bayart, J. F. (2000) Africa in the world: a history of extraversion. African Affairs 99(395): 217-267
    Beckman, B. (1993) The liberation of civil society: neo-liberal ideology and political theory. Review of African Political Economy 58: 20-33
    Bratton, Michael. "Beyond the state: Civil society and associational life in Africa." World Politics 41.03 (1989): 407-430
    Bratton, M. & N. van de Walle (1992) Popular protest and political reform in Africa. Comparative Politics 24 (4): 419-442
    Fatton, R. (1992) Predatory rule: state and civil society in Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner
    Fatton, R. (1995) Africa in the age of democratization: The civil limitations of civil society. African Studies Review 38(2): 67-100
    Fatton, R. (1999) Civil society revisited: Africa in the new millennium. West Africa Review 1 (1): 1-18
    Gyimah-Boadi. E. 1996. ‘Civil Society in Africa’. Journal of Democracy. 7(2): 118-32.
    Hearn, J. (2001) The 'uses and abuses' of civil society in Africa. Review of African Political Economy 28 (87): 43-53
    Hearn, J. (2007) African NGOs: The New Compradors? Development and Change 38: 1095 – 110.
    Lemarchand, R. (1992) Uncivil States and Civil Societies: How Illusion Became Reality. Journal of Modern African Studies 30 (2): 177-191
    Mamdani, M. (1995) A Critique of the State and Civil Society Paradigm in Africanist Studies. In Mamdani, M. & E. Wamba-dia-Wamba (eds) African Studies in Social Movements and Democracy. Dakar: CODESRIA
    Mercer, C. (2002). NGOs, civil society and democratization: a critical review of the literature. Progress in development studies, 2(1), 5-22.
    Murunga, G.R. 2000. “Civil Society and the Democratic Experience in Kenya.” African Sociological Review/Revue Africaine de Sociologie.4(1): 97-118
    Oloka‐Onyango, J., and J.J. Barya. 1997. Civil Society and the Political Economy of Foreign Aid in Uganda. Democratization. 4(2):113-138
    Orvis, S. (2003) Kenyan Civil Society: Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide? The Journal of Modern African Studies 41 (2): 247-268

11. Religion and neo-Pentecostalism
    Deacon, G., & Lynch, G. (2013). Allowing Satan in? Moving toward a political economy of neo-Pentecostalism in Kenya. Journal of Religion in Africa, 43(2), 108-130.
    Deacon, G. (2015). Driving the devil out: Kenya’s born-again election. Journal of Religion in Africa, 45(2), 200-220.
    Gusman, A. (2009). HIV/AIDS, Pentecostal churches, and the “Joseph generation” in Uganda. Africa Today, 56(1), 66-86.
    Bompani, B. (2016). ‘For god and for my country’: Pentecostal-Charismatic churches and the framing of a new political discourse in Uganda. In Public Religion and the Politics of Homosexuality in Africa (pp. 31-46). Routledge.
    Nyairo, Joyce (2015) The circus comes to town: Performance, religion and exchange in political party campaigns. In K. Njogu & P. W. Wekesa (eds) Kenya’s 2013 Election: Stakes, Practices and Outcomes. Nairobi: Twaweza Communications Ltd.
    Parikh, S. A. (2007). The political economy of marriage and HIV: the ABC approach,“safe” infidelity, and managing moral risk in Uganda. American journal of public health, 97(7), 1198-1208.
    Oliver, M. (2013). Transnational sex politics, conservative Christianity, and antigay activism in Uganda. Studies in Social justice, 7(1), 83-105.

12. Reading week

13. Women in parliament
    Burnet, J. E. (2008) Gender balance and the meanings of women in governance in post-genocide Rwanda. African Affairs 107 (428): 361-386
    Burnet, J. E. (2011) Women Have Found Respect: Gender Quotas, Symbolic Representation, and Female Empowerment in Rwanda. Politics & Gender 7(3)
    Mitullah, Winnie (2019) Gender mainstreaming and the campaign for equality. In N. Cheeseman, K. Kanyinga & G. Lynch (eds) Oxford Handbook of Kenyan Politics. Oxford: OUP
    Muriaas, R. L. & V. Wang (2012) Executive dominance and the politics of quota representation in Uganda. Journal of Modern African Studies 50 (1): 75-102
    Refki, D. et al (2017) Erosion and transformation in the ecology of gender: Women’s political representation and gender relations in the Ugandan parliament. Journal of Modern African Studies 55 (1): 55-78
    Tamale, S. (1999) When hens begin to crow: gender and parliamentary politics in Uganda. Boulder: Westview Press
    Tripp, Aili Mari. "Expanding ‘civil society’: Women and political space in contemporary Uganda." Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 36.2 (1998): 84-107.
    Tripp, Aili. “Women’s Movements and Challenges to Neopatrimonial Rule: Preliminary Observations from Africa”. Development and Change 32,1 (2001), pp. 33-54.
    Tripp, A. (2016) Women’s mobilisation for legislative political representation in Africa. Review of African Political Economy 43 (149): 382-399
    Tripp, Aili Mari, and Alice Kang. "The global impact of quotas on the fast track to increased female legislative representation." Comparative Political Studies 41.3 (2008): 338-361
    Yoon, M. Y. (2001) Democratization and women’s legislative representation in sub-Saharan Africa. Democratization 8 (2): 169-190
    Yoon, M. Y. (2004) Explaining women’s legislative representation in sub-Saharan Africa. Legislative Studies Quarterly 29 (3): 447-468

14. The politics of famine
    De Waal, A. (1997). Famine crimes: politics & the disaster relief industry in Africa. Indiana University Press.
    De Waal, A. (2008). The humanitarian carnival: a celebrity vogue. World Affairs, 171(2), 43-55.
    Dreze, J., Sen, A., & Hussain, A. (1995). The political economy of hunger: selected essays. Oxford University Press.
    Keller, E. J. (1992). Drought, war, and the politics of famine in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 30(4), 609-624.
    Müller, T. R. (2013). The Long Shadow of Band Aid Humanitarianism: revisiting the dynamics between famine and celebrity. Third World Quarterly, 34(3), 470-484.
    Müller, T. R. (2013). ‘The Ethiopian famine’revisited: Band Aid and the antipolitics of celebrity humanitarian action. Disasters, 37(1), 61-79.
    Sen, A. (1976). Famines as failures of exchange entitlements. Economic and Political Weekly, 1273-1280.
    Sen, A. (1980). Famines. World Development, 8(9), 613-621.
    Sen, A. (1981). Ingredients of famine analysis: availability and entitlements. The quarterly journal of economics, 96(3), 433-464.

15. China in East Africa
    Alden, C. (2007) China in Africa. London: Taylor and Francis
    Alden, C., D. Large, R.S. de Oliveira eds. (2008) China returns to Africa : a rising power and a continent embrace
    Campbell, H. (2008) China in Africa: Challenging US global hegemony. Third world quarterly 29(1): 89-105
    Carmody, P. and Owusu, F.Y. (2007) Competing hegemons? Chinese versus American geo-economic strategies in Africa. Political geography 26(5)
    French, H. (2007) Commentary: China and Africa. African affairs 106 (422): 127-132
    Large, D. (2008) Beyond ‘Dragon in the Bush’: The Study of China–Africa Relations. African affairs 107(426)
    Mohan G. & G. Lampert (2012) Negotiating China: Reinserting African Agency into China-Africa Relations. African affairs 112(446): 92-110
    Mohan, Giles, and Marcus Power. "New African choices? The politics of Chinese engagement." Review of African Political Economy 35.115 (2008): 23-42.
    Taylor, I. (2006) China’s Oil Diplomacy in Africa. International affairs 82(5): 937-959
    Taylor, I. (2007) Governance in Africa and Sino- African Relations: Contradictions or Confluence? Politics 27(3): 139-146
    Taylor, I. (2008) Sino-African Relations and the Problem of Human Rights. African Affairs 107(426): 63-87

16. The war on terror
    Abrahamsen, R. (2005). Blair's Africa: the politics of securitization and fear. Alternatives 30(1) 55-80.
    Abrahamsen, R. (2004). A breeding ground for terrorists? Africa & Britain's ‘war on terrorism’. Review of African Political Economy, 31(102), 677-684.
    Fisher, Jonathan. "Managing donor perceptions: Contextualizing Uganda's 2007 intervention in Somalia." African Affairs 111.444 (2012): 404-423
    Fisher, J., & Anderson, D. M. (2015). Authoritarianism and the securitization of development in Africa. International Affairs, 91(1), 131-151.
    Mamdani, M. (2010). Saviors and survivors: Darfur, politics, and the war on terror. Three Rivers Press.
    Schmidt, E. (2013). Foreign intervention in Africa: From the cold war to the war on terror (Vol. 7). Cambridge University Press.
    Sharp, J. (2011). A subaltern critical geopolitics of the war on terror: Postcolonial security in Tanzania. Geoforum, 42(3), 297-305.

Subject specific skills

Develop an understanding of East African history and politics.
Be able to apply different theories to the East African context.
Be able to compare within and across countries.
Be able to work with peers in seminars.
Be able to develop an argument and to present in academic and non-academic writing.

Transferable skills

The module provides students with opportunities to acquire or develop the following key skills:

Reading comprehension.
Synthesis of different materials
Critical analysis
Oral presentation
Group working skills
Academic writing
Writing for a non-academic audience