South Africa's foreign policy

The ANC government in South Africa has had an intersting and challenging 16 year rule of the republic. When the government changed in 1994 the ANC was still uncertain of who best to ally with based on their struggles during apartheid. This writing assignment will require that you examine South Africa's attitudes to certain events that have taken place in the last 15 years and the country's attitude towards the nations involved in these events.

Event #1 - Analyse the ANC's perception of the 2003 American invasion of Iraq. How did Mr. Mandela and Mbeki feel about the U.S. and British involvement in this country? Do you think that their feelings about the invasion were influenced by economics and the fact that both the US and UK were major trading partners with South Africa?

Event # 2 - An event of your choosing. Analyse ANC reaction to a major world issue by researching and reporting on how and why the South African government reacted as it did to the event.

This assignment must be posted by Monday April 4.

An opinion on sanctions

Although our attentions have been fixed recently on issues in Northern Africa, the fighting in Cote d'Ivoire has intensified recently due to the power struggle between the two leaders and their followers. On Friday Nigeria and France circulated a draft resolution in the U.N security council imposing sanctions on Laurent Gbagbo, the president of Cote d' Ivoire who has refused to step down after the November 2010 elections in the country.

This conflict in Cote d'Ivoire has displaced nearly 1 million people and this assignment requires that you anlyze the usefulness of imposing economic sanctions on Cote d'Ivoire. What does the U.N. hope to gain by imposing sanctions on the Ivory Coast? Will it help the humanitiarian crisis that is developing? Have economic sanctions traditionally helped resolve issues on the continent? Why or why not? Provide examples to prove your point.

Your well researched response needs to be posted no later than 8:00am Friday April 1.

Rwandan Genocide Writing assignment

Answer two of the following questions in paragraph form:

1) Judging from what you have seen, read, and heard, could genocide occur again, in Rwanda or other parts of the world? Why or why not?

2) What is the nature and limit of personal responsibility in the 21st century? Support your personal view with evidence from the film and/or from your own knowledge of current events.

3) "The events of Sept. 11, 2001 changed how America views its responsibilities in the world." Agree or disagree, supporting your view with evidence from the film and/or from your own knowledge of current events.

Both responses must to be posted by 1:30 pm on Friday 14 January

21 UP South Africa

After viewing 21 UP South Africa describe how either class or race could be a factor in determining upward economic and social mobility in the country today.

Describe South Africa's policy of black economic empowerment (BEE) and provide opinion on its necessity in South Africa in 2010.

Please post this response by Tuesday November 23 before our class meeting.

Tsotsi

Describe what life would be like for an average resident of Alexandra township, the setting for the movie. Be sure to mention how the lack of infrastucture might affect how a resident might live in specific ways. ie. lack of running water and electricity.

This short response should be posted before class on Friday 22 October

Angolan video exercise

Answer the following questions related to the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMOxUZAHNLk) that you saw in class today:

1. Describe the plight of children in Luanda shown in the video.

2. From where do Angolans from all walks of life get their food?

3. How did the U.S. ambassador to Angola explain away the mismanagement of government funds when asked how the Angolan president can build two new palaces on his small salary?

4. How does the film describe the methods the government that Angola uses to deal with opposition to its rule?

5. How much money went "missing" from the Angolan economy from 1997-2002? Where do you think it went to?

6. Explain why so many roads are unsave to drive on in Angola.

7. Explain the situation in Cabinda with regards to oil and soverignty

Please post your responses by midnight on Friday 24 Sept

Nigerian-Biafran War

1. What were the causes of the civil war?
2. What role did Britain play in causing this conflict?
3. When Nigeria was granted independence in 1960 how did the boundary agreements affect the three dominant ethnic groups?
4. Describe the 1965 elections and how the outcomes for the 3 main ethnic groups
5. What happened during and after the first military coup?
6. How did the discovery of oil in the South East of Nigeria eventually lead to a civil war?
7. Describe what events took place during the civil war and how it eventually ended in 1970.
8. Explain the aftermath of the war.
9. How could this conflict continue to affect Nigeria today?