Winrich Kühne

Sub-Saharan Africa is undergoing one of its most difficult and turbulent phases. Processes of profound political, economic, social and cultural transformation are shaking African societies. Democratization, or the so-called "Second Liberation" which started so hopefully in the early nineties, has run into serious difficulties. State-building, democratization, ethnic and religious diversity, problems of economic development as well as state failure will be major topics to be explored. Pre-colonial rule, Slave trade, the "scramble for Africa" by European colonizers and other basic topics will be dealt with by the Professor at the beginning of the course as important backgrounds for understanding present day as well as future African developments. The challenge how to develop governance systems which are not only in accordance with international standards of democratization but also with local conditions in Sub-Saharan African countries and the need for African ownership will be a guiding issue of this course. (Cross listed International Relations/International Development/African Studies) (CM)

Since the end of the Cold War "peace operations," conducted by a variety of international actors like the UN, EU, NATO, AU, have become a strategic pillar of international peace and security policy. Since the first mission in 1948 a complex variety/generations of missions have evolved. They will be Explorer and discussed in class based on short case studies by students. More than a 150,000 international military, police, and civilians are presently deployed in about two dozen missions, most of them conducted by the UN. However, these missions are struggling with enormous difficulties. There is confusion regarding the use of force and the proper application of basic principles like "impartiality" and "consent" and the more recent demand for better "protection of civilians." Finally, there is increasing skepticism regarding the effectiveness of "post-conflict peacebuilding." At the beginning of the course there will be an introduction into the basic norms and principles of the UN Charta with regard to safeguarding international peace and security. Surprisingly, the terms "bluehelmets" and "peacekeeping" are unknown to the UN Charta. (Crossed listed International Relations/International Development/African Studies) (CM/IL)