Dr. Carl LeVan's Homepage

Development, Security, African Politics

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Teaching

Graduate Courses

Meeting with graduate students at the University of Ibadan in 2010

Africa in Comparative Perspective

Syllabus – fall 2010

African Political Institutions

Syllabus – spring 2011

Syllabus – spring 2010

Theories of Comparative & International Studies

Syllabus – fall 2011

Syllabus – fall 2010

Representation in the Developing World, fall 2011

This was a one-time class co-taught with Professor Todd Eisenstadt, a Latin American specialist from the School of Public Affairs, as an extension of our collaboration which began with the APSA Africa Workshop during the summer of 2011 in Nairobi.  This course for MA and PhD students examined the limitations of democratic governance through both formal and informal mechanisms.  Click here to see the syllabus.  To see the reading list for the Nairobi workshop click here.

Corruption, Development, and Democracy

Syllabus – spring 2008

Undergraduate Courses

Contemporary Africa

Syllabus – spring 2011

Civilizations of Africa

Syllabus – spring 2009

Intro to International Relations Research

Access some cool study tips and learning resources from the menu at the top.

We crave radiance in this austere world,

light in the spiritual darkness,

Learning is the one perfect religion.

-”Allegiance,” by Elizabeth Alexander

 

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• FEATURED RESEARCH: “Questioning Tocqueville in Africa”

  "Questioning Tocqueville in Africa: Continuity and Change in Civil society During Nigeria’s Democratization"

  Alexis de Tocqueville's influence on the democratization literature has encouraged the idea that transitions require an independent civil society. However this view reifies boundaries between state and society, and it over-predicts civil society confrontation with governments. Drawing upon Hegel, I develop a model that clusters organizations according to goal orientation and autonomy. I then examine civil society during Nigeria’s democratization. I attribute changes in autonomy and goal orientation of organizations to transnational organizing, coalition building, and repression. My findings question the assumption that autonomous organizations will challenge the state.

  (This article appears in the February 2011 issue of Democratization, vol. 18, no. 1)