Discerning the ethnic and racial dimensions of politics is considered by some indispensable to understanding contemporary world politics. This course seeks to answer fundamental questions about racial and ethnic politics. To begin, what are the bases of ethnic and racial identities? What accounts for political mobilization based upon such identities? What are the political claims and goals of such mobilization and is conflict between groups and/or with government forces inevitable? How do ethnic and racial identities intersect with other identities, such as gender and class, which are themselves the sources of social, political, and economic cleavages? Finally, how are domestic ethnic/racial politics connected to international human rights? To answer these questions, the course begins with an introduction to dominant theoretical approaches to racial and ethnic identity. The course then considers these approaches in light of current events in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the United States.

Sudan's history has been marked by internal conflict, outside interference, and political instability, leading to the current humanitarian crisis. The 1980s saw economic mismanagement under Gaafar Nimeiry, the Second Sudanese Civil War, and the rise of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Nimeiry's economic policies led to famine, inflation, and resentment among southern Sudanese citizens. Sadiq al-Mahdi's rule in the late 1980s armed tribal groups, causing ethnic tensions and escalating bloodshed. The RSF has continued systematic violence, displacement, and ethnic cleansing in Darfur. Despite human rights violations, the international community has implicitly recognized the RSF, despite their breaches. The current humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by the prolonged occupation, resulting in starvation, infrastructure destruction, and uprooting millions.

This course examines systematically, and comparatively, great and middle power military interventions, and candidate military interventions, into civil wars from the 1990s to the present. These civil wars did not easily fit into the traditional category of vital interest. These interventions may therefore tell us something about broad trends in international politics including the nature of unipolarity, the erosion of sovereignty, the security implications of globalization, and the nature of modern western military power.

A major figure in Arab and African modernism, artist Ibrahim El-Salahi discusses his work Reborn Sounds of Childhood Dreams I (1962-3), a large-scale oil painting at Tate. In 2013, Tate Modern presented the UK's first major exhibition of El-Salahi's work, bringing together 100 pieces from across more than five decades of his international career. Take a look at some highlights from one of the most significant figures in African art and learn more about how he belongs to a broader, global art history as well. Created by Tate.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"For thousands of years, the Nile has provided bountiful gifts to the people who make their home around its banks, offering food, a means of transport, irrigation, and fertile soil. But there is a limit to how much the Nile can give. Already in the 1970s, Egypt began fully utilizing the available resources of the Nile. Any additional demand has been met virtually, through imports of food. Now, research suggests that within the next decade, Egypt is poised to import as much “virtual water” as it receives from the Nile. In a new study from MIT, researchers compiled water and crop data for Egypt spanning the past 60 years. That gave them one of the most detailed looks at modern water use ever produced for the country, and helped them understand Egypt’s trade in “virtual water”. Virtual water refers to the hidden flow of water in food and commodities. For example, it takes about 1100 tons of water to produce one ton of maize in Egypt..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The birth of South Sudan in July 2011 was met with jubilation by its citizens. Amidst the celebrations, there was a glimmering sense of hope that the sundering of North and South might act as a beginning from which to establish a prosperous nation. This compendium draws together E-IR’s coverage of the independence of South Sudan, spanning initial reactions in July 2011 to reflections offered a year later.