Scope of the course
The 2014 Horn of Africa Course, held in Kenya from 31 May to 6 June, covered Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, Puntland, and northern Kenya. The course offered a multi-disciplinary examination of the crises afflicting the Horn and explores continuity and change under new political leadership at the national and sub-national level across the region. The Director of Studies was Ken Menkhaus.
Highlights of the syllabus
DAY 1: History, people, and the land: geography and environment; pre-colonial and colonial histories.
DAY 2: Identity politics: nationalism, politics, and religion; gender and youth issues; rights, identity, and resources.
DAY 3: Ethiopia: political trends since 1991; the developmental state; post-Meles politics; regional and global relations.
DAY 4: Eritrea, Djibouti, and Northern Kenya: legacies of the Ethiopia-Eritrea war; contemporary Djibouti; devolution, refugees and northern Kenya; LAPSSET.
DAY 5: Somalia, Somaliland, and Puntland: state-building; the Federal Government of Somalia; al-Shabaab; famine; the diaspora.
DAY 6: Socio-economic development trends: livelihoods under stress; the private sector; civil society; impact of aid.
Core teaching staff
Ken Menkhaus PhD Director of Studies
Professor, Political Science, Davidson College, North Carolina
Lee Cassanelli PhD
Associate Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania
Christopher Clapham PhD
Emeritus Professor, Politics & International Relations, University of Cambridge
Mohamed Samantar PhD
Professor of Economics, Puntland State University
Seif Ayalew Asfaw PhD
Human Rights Activist
Dereje Feyissa PhD
Institute of Federal Studies, Addis Ababa
Marleen Renders PhD
Peace-building Specialist, Somalia Support Centre, UNICEF
Matt Bryden
Director, Sahan Research
Michael Woldemariam PhD
Assistant Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Boston University
Rashid Abdi
Independent Consultant
Terrence Lyons PhD
Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
Jason Mosley
Associate Fellow, Chatham House
Mark Bradbury
RVI Horn of Africa and East Africa Regional Director
