One Essay Question — 850 words — 15%
The use of lecture material and the required readings is highly recommended to answer the questions. In addition, you are welcome to refer to other sources that you choose to consolidate your answers – but you are required to refer, first and foremost, to the assigned readings and lecture/course materials. In addition, note that the usual referencing and attribution requirements apply. If you cite or use someone else’s work, you MUST clearly indicate this by using quotation marks and/or the appropriate referencing. You have 2 hours to answer one essay question and two short answers out of the given options. The number of words is limited both for the essay and short answers in such a way to properly construct, reference, and edit your answers.
Please observe the stated word limits. Exceeding these limits may attract a penalty and is far from a guarantee of a better grade; we are looking instead for a concise, focused, and direct answer that provides clear evidence of the argument made. Also, avoid simply reciting a collection of materials and factoids that are not directly relevant to the question posed. In your answers, the examiner will be looking for evidence that you have considered the core concepts presented in lectures and that you have read and understood the assigned class readings. Be sure to provide evidence for your assertions. Your answers will be strengthened by the judicious use of examples and cases.
The questions are deliberately broad. This is to allow you sufficient flexibility to construct, and argument based on what you consider to be the critical issues, rather than just regurgitating facts or summarizing arguments from different sources. It is your task to sort out what is most important for each answer and to discuss them with attention to the most appropriate theory and analytical tools.
Comments from Customer
Choose One the following three essay questions and discuss it in broader theoretical and historical
perspectives. The word limit for the essay is 800-850
words.
1. Analyze the rationales and objectives of Africa’s foreign policy orientation and behavior during the
cold war and post-cold war with a focus on the current rapprochement between many African
countries and China. What is your take on the developing Sino-African close relations and
cooperation? How it is different from the traditional North -South-Relations?
2. Africa has faced a tremendous challenge to ensure food security for its rapidly growing population.
The problem is taking on a new dimension due to a rise in food prices, climate change and population
growth. Discuss and analyze the failure of agricultural policies in contemporary Africa and the
consequent food insecurity as well as the strategies to spur agricultural production and rural
development.
3. Decolonizing African “Colonies of Settlement” proved to be a very protracted enterprise compared
to the “colonies of exploitation” or the first of wave of decolonization, 1947-1965. This was the case
in Algeria and the two British colonial possessions of Sub-Saharan Africa(Kenya, Zimbabwe, South
Africa). Analyze the rise of apartheid and the consequent struggles for liberation to end
institutionalized racism in South Africa. What is your assessment of the post-Apartheid political transition?