PO3PGS: Politics and Governance in the Global South

Module code: PO3PGS

Module provider: Politics; School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Credits: 20

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Victor Araujo Silva , email: v.araujosilva@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Matthias Kronke, email: m.w.kroenke@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST TAKE PO2CGP (Compulsory)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Mini placement

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This course introduces students to politics and the political economy of development in countries across Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. What are the main political and governance challenges countries in these regions face, and what are the best prospects for addressing them? For example, how does a country’s historical legacy, or level of economic inequality impact its ability to provide public goods and policies? How do politicians engage with citizens during and between elections? What are the consequences of these interactions for democracy in the Global South? Drawing on a wide range of empirical social science research, students will be exposed to the politics of several countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Ghana, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Zambia (this list is subject to change at the convenors discretion).

Main themes to be covered include state and institutional strength (e.g. legislatures, political parties, and electoral commissions), political representation, and accountability, as well as more specific areas of governance and democratic practice such as clientelism, public goods provision, as well as religious and ethnic diversity.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Draw on established theories and methods within Comparative Politics to analyse how history and colonialism shapes politics and governance in Africa and Latin America today
2. Demonstrate an understanding of core perspectives and arguments within areas of Comparative Politics such as processes of state formation, and inequality, the role of ethnicity and religion in electoral politics, and the consequences of democratic accountability for government service delivery.
3. Engage effectively and be able to critique different types of research designs of empirical research
4. Produce basic descriptive statistics (e.g. bar graphs, line charts) using existing data sets to support academic arguments.

Module content

Although subject to change, the topics to be addressed in the module include: 

1. Historical Background / how colonialism affects politics and governance in Africa and Latin America today
2. State Formation
3. Inequality
4. Religion & Ethnicity
5. Legislatures
6. Political Parties
7. Citizen-Party linkages
8. Electoral Integrity
9. Electoral Competition & Service Delivery

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module consists of eleven ninety-minute lectures, and eleven one-hour seminars. Students will prepare for lectures and seminars by critically engaging with set readings and reflecting on a number of seminar questions. The lectures introduce the topics and key concepts in a broader sense, cover key theories, and explore relevant empirical evidence for each topic. Seminars are discussion-based to delve into the specific aspects of each topic through case studies, group work and other exercises. For example, students will ‘adopt’ a country of their choice for the duration of the semester and learn more about its politics and economic situation. Screencasts will be used to support learning and to introduce specific aspects and methods of comparative politics.

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs