Democracy and Development: Perspectives from Africa

On a continent once dominated by closed political systems, democratic political institutions have taken root in more than a dozen African countries over the past 20 years. In this course, you’ll learn about this remarkable experiment, and try to better understand both the opportunities and the challenges of democratic governance. We have interviewed more than 50 African academics, politicians, leaders, and students about how democracy works, and in this course, we provide opportunities to learn from these various African experts. Each week, MIT Professor Evan Lieberman will introduce key topics in the study of democratic development in Africa, and highlight key ideas and insights from various African colleagues. Students will gain a solid introduction to African political development using analytical tools from the social sciences. The course is for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of African politics; learning about relationship between democratic politics and the attainment of improved human development; and/or obtaining an introduction to political science approaches to these topics.