2019/2020
Федерализм и децентрализация: оценивание достижений Африки
Статус:
Дисциплина общефакультетского пула
Кто читает:
Школа востоковедения
Где читается:
Факультет мировой экономики и мировой политики
Когда читается:
1 модуль
Язык:
английский
Кредиты:
4
Контактные часы:
2
Course Syllabus
Abstract
The aim of the course «Federalism and Decentralisation: Assessing the achivements of Africa» is to have students get a general overview of both federalism and decentralization, we will examine a number of case-studies from Africa where federalism and decentralization have been changing the continent’s political landscape in the last twenty years, coinciding with unprecedented levels of economic growth. The learning format includes the online-course at the base of Coursera platform (URL: (https://www.coursera.org/learn/decentralization-africa).
Learning Objectives
- To understand the twin concepts of federalism and decentralization, what is federalism and how is it different from decentralization
- To understand what are the core ideas behind these concepts
- To grasp how federalism and decentralization have been changing the continent’s political landscape in the last twenty years, coinciding with unprecedented levels of economic growth
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Overview and fundamental understanding of the concepts of federalism and decentralization in Africa
- Explain the definition of important concepts, such as general rule and self-regulation, autonomy, multiple identifiers, and distributed authority.
- Discussion of the various legal, political and social foundations of federalism and decentralization.
- The focus will be on three case studies to acquire insight into how federalism and decentralization work in practice: Nigeria, South Africa and Ethiopia
- Students should analyze the related but different dynamics decentralization presents. In particular, the focus will be on the economic implications of decentralization on Africa. We will cover various perspectives that highlight state capacity, international factors, design of decentralized institutions, unintended long-term consequences, and uncodified home-grown practices of local governance.
- To bring the knowledge and insights from previous modules together. The notion of state capacity will be unpacked into political, administrative, infrastructural, and economic components. There is a need also to evaluate the relative importance of international know-how and local traditions.
- A student has the ability to discuss basic notions about federalism and how is it different from decentralization and logically formulate, describe and use the empirical knowledge of a number of African cases
Course Contents
- Theme 1. The Three Promises of Federalism and DecentralizationOverview and fundamental understanding of the concepts of federalism and decentralization in Africa
- Theme 2. Core Ideas in Federalism and DecentralizationExplain the definition of important concepts, such as general rule and self-regulation, autonomy, multiple identifiers, and distributed authority
- Theme 3. The Building Blocks of Federalism and DecentralizationIn this module we will discuss the various legal, political, and social foundations of federalism and decentralization. As you can see, this topic requires a true interdisciplinary perspective
- Theme 4. Federalism in Post- Conflict SocietiesThe focus will be on three case studies to acquire insight into how federalism and decentralization work in practice: Nigeria, South Africa and Ethiopia
- Theme 5. Decentralization, Democracy and Economic DevelopmentWhile previous modules focused on federalism, Module 5 is all about decentralization. We will analyze the related but different dynamics decentralization presents. In particular, we will focus on the economic implications of decentralization on Africa. We will cover various perspectives that highlight state capacity, international factors, design of decentralized institutions, unintended long-term consequences, and uncodified home- grown practices of local governance
- Theme 6. Critical Issues in Federalism and DecentralizationThis module will cover critical issues in Federalism and Decentralization, and will bring the knowledge and insights from previous modules together. The notion of state capacity will be unpacked into political, administrative, infrastructural, and economic components. We will also evaluate the relative importance of international know-how and local traditions
- Theme 7. Classroom discussionClassroom discussion
Assessment Elements
- A testing after one week (10 min.)
- A testing after one week (10 min.)
- A testing after one week (10 min.)
- A testing after one week (10 min.)
- A testing after one week (10 min.)
- A testing after one week (10 min.)
- DebatesDebates missed by a student for a good reason (illness, scientific or academic trip, participation in a conference, etc., documented to the training office), if agreed with the teacher, may not be taken into account and the weight will be redistributed to all elements of the online course control. The retake of the exam is possible in accordance with the “Regulation on the organization of intermediate certification and ongoing monitoring of student performance at the Higher School of Economics”.
Interim Assessment
- Interim assessment (1 module)0.15 * A testing after one week (10 min.) + 0.15 * A testing after one week (10 min.) + 0.15 * A testing after one week (10 min.) + 0.15 * A testing after one week (10 min.) + 0.15 * A testing after one week (10 min.) + 0.15 * A testing after one week (10 min.) + 0.1 * Debates
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Ali, O. H. (2018). Teaching Africa in World History: Painting Scenes, Performing Stories, Creating Conversations. Sixteenth Century Journal, 49(2), 458–463. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=30h&AN=132761213
- Atieno, Christine, and Colin Robinson, eds. Post-conflict Security, Peace and Development: Perspectives from Africa, Latin America, Europe and New Zealand. Vol. 13. Springer, 2018.
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Irogbe, K. (2014). The Effects of Globalization in Latin America, Africa, and Asia : A Global South Perspective. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=777929