Course Catalogue

Humanities and Social Science

To engage with the deep history of western statebuilding projects in the non-western world To consider the ways in which western statebuilding projects have been shaped and transformed by the initiative of non-western social actors To consider the continuities and changes across the colonial and post-colonial eras of statebuilding experiments.

Outline Syllabus:This module examines Western statebuilding in non-western societies during the imperial, decolonisation and post-colonial neo-liberal eras. It does so in order to understand the similarities and dissimilarities of statebuilding between these different eras, and thus provide essential historical context for understanding contemporary statebuilding experiments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. It predominantly focuses on India, Middle East and Africa in telling the story of Western statebuilding, and the way local societies and elites have persistently shaped and transformed supposedly universalist agendas in highly specific cultural contexts.

Module Overview:
This module engages with the deep history of western statebuilding projects in the non-western world. It will enable you to:

• consider the ways in which western statebuilding projects have been shaped and transformed by the initiative of non-western social actors
• consider continuities and changes across the colonial and post-colonial eras of statebuilding experiments

Additional Information:The sessions will be organised in 2 hour workshops and will include a series of mini-lectures, practical exercises, roundtable discussions and a conference at the end of the semester.