APC3703 Assignment 1 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) Semester 2 2025 – DUE August 2025; 100% correct solutions and explanations.

APC3703 Assignment 1 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) Semester 2 2025 – DUE August 2025; 100% correct solutions and explanations. Section A: West Africa 1. Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has seen many military rulers recycled as civilian rulers. With this in mind, critically discuss the assertion by Onwutuebe (2002, e-reserve) that ���problems of democratic infractions are prevalent in the current political system largely due to the persisting influence of military culture of political leadership”. [50] 2. Despite being a stable democracy for more than three decades, the crucial factor of democratic consolidation still eludes the West African nation of Ghana. Sefa-Nyarko (2022, e-reserve) interrogates this by looking at the checks and balances between the state and civil society in the country. Critically discuss Sefa-Nyarko’s (2022, e-reserve) view that a strong and effective civil society in Ghana holds the most effective method for taming the excesses of the state. [50] 3. Critically compare and contrast the challenges faced by Ghana and Nigeria with respect to democratic consolidation since their return to democracy in 1992 and 1999 respectively. [50] Section B: North Africa 4. Algeria avoided the upheavals of the 2011 Arab Spring through a combination of clientelism, state-managed reforms, and military-backed repression. In contrast, the peaceful Hirak movement of 2019, which ultimately led to the removal of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, emerged from a deep and long-standing systemic crisis that threatened Algeria’s social, political, and economic stability. Critically evaluate this ‘revolutionary situation’ that led to the peaceful ouster of Bouteflika, as articulated by Serres (2022, e-reserve). [50] 5. “Since 2013, the military and security-led regime has reinstated its control over society and citizens with an iron fist, curtailing freedom of information and banning freedom of expression” (Hamzawy 2022, e-reserve). With this in mind, critically discuss the eradication of democratic gains after the 2011 uprising and re-establishment of authoritarian rule and practices in post-2013 coup Egypt. [50] 6. Critically discuss the political reforms of former Algerian President Zéroul in the mid-1990s that sought to establish a working democratic system. Evaluate these reforms in light of the subsequent election of Bouteflika in 1999. [50]