Nadia Rabesahala Horning
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Email: nhorning@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.3428
Office Hours: Monday 10:30 - 12:00; Tuesday 1:30 - 3:00 and by appt.
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Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
FYSE 1332 - Reading Africa
Reading Africa
What do we know about Africa? In this seminar we will explore this vast continent through novels written about it. African and non-African writers will help us discover the continent’s geographies, histories, cultures, and politics. We will study particular issues affecting Africans over the centuries including colonialism, dictatorial rule, the aid business, women’s rights, and racism. With the help of films and student presentations, we will focus on Algeria, Nigeria, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
Spring 2011
IGST 0705 - African Studies Senior Thesis
INTL 0705 - African Studies Senior Thesis
African Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Winter 2012, Fall 2012
IPEC 0500 - Independent Project
IPEC 0700 - Intl.Pol.&Economics SR. Thesis
PSCI 0103 - Intro to Comparative Politics ▲
Introduction to Comparative Politics
This course offers an introduction to the comparative study of political systems and to the logic of comparative inquiry. How are different political systems created and organized? How and why do they change? Why are some democratic and others authoritarian? Why are some rich and others poor? Other topics covered in this course include nationalism and political ideologies, forms of representation, the relationship between state institutions and civil society, and globalization. The goal in this course is to use comparative methods to analyze questions of state institutions -- how they arise, change, and generate different economic, social, and political outcome. 3 hrs. lect./disc. (Comparative Politics)
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
PSCI 0202 - African Politics
African Politics
This course surveys the challenges and possibilities that Sub-Saharan Africa presents in our era of globalization. We will look at the process of state formation to appreciate the relationships between historical legacies and political and economic development. Themes include state formation, democratic governance, sustainable development, and Africa in world affairs. Topics such as colonial rule and national responses, authoritarian rule, ethnic politics, the debt burden, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and natural resource politics will be discussed. Case studies from English-, French-, and Portuguese-speaking Africa will be used to illuminate such relationships. 3 hrs lect/disc. (Comparative Politics)/
Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013
PSCI 0209 - Local Green Politics
Local Green Politics
How do local communities manage natural resources throughout the world? How do they avoid natural resource degradation, and how do they interact with environmental decision makers from other levels of authority? Through case studies in wildlife and forest conservation, ecotourism, protected area management, and environmental and conservation planning, we will study community-based natural resource management efforts. Case studies – from ancient times to present – will be drawn from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S. By the end of the course, students will be expected to critically analyze cases of resource management and mismanagement. 3 hrs. lect./disc./(Comparative Politics)/
Spring 2010, Spring 2013
PSCI 0431 - African Government ▲
African Government
Sub-Saharan Africa has been described as being in a state of permanent crisis, a place where disorder and chaos reign and states are chronically weak. How do political systems form and thrive under such conditions? What accounts for their survival in the face of tremendous political, economic, and environmental challenges? We will investigate the distinctive characteristics of African political systems, the different governance models throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, and the types of public goods or public ills these systems have produced. We will also have the opportunity to more deeply appreciate the real-life consequences for displaced Africans through a service-learning component. 3 hrs. sem. (Comparative Politics)
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
PSCI 0500 - Independent Project ▲ ▹
Independent Projects
A program of independent work designed to meet the individual needs of advanced students. (Approval required)
Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
PSCI 0700 - Honors Thesis ▲ ▹
Honors Thesis
(Approval required)
Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
PSCI 1016 - Dictators and Democrats
Dictators and Democrats
How do dictators come into and stay in power? Why and how do they relinquish control of their nation and government? What distinguishes democrats from dictators? This course explores the processes through which charismatic individuals create, transform, or circumvent state institutions to seize and/or maintain political power. We will examine individual, national, and international factors that propel dictators to leadership positions. We will also look at the historical context and personal circumstances that lead to a dictators' demise, and that sometimes result in the establishment of a democratic regime. We will study cases from Europe (Churchill, Hitler, Atatürk, Milosevic), Asia (Ghandi, Mao, Pol Pot, Stalin), America (FDR, Clinton, G. W. Bush, Pinochet, Perón, Duvalier), and Africa (Mandela, Mobutu, Idi Amin, Mugabe). (Comparative Politics)
Winter 2010, Winter 2013
Curriculum Vitae
Publications
2010 - "Bridging the Gap between Environmental Decision-Makers in Madagascar" in German, Laura, Alain Karsenty and Anne-Marie Tiani (eds.) Governing Africa's Forests in a Globalized World. Earthscan: 234-257.
2009 - "Gestion Communautaire ou Préservation des Ressources Renouvelables : Histoire Inachevée d'une Évolution Majeure de la Politique Environnementale à Madagascar" VertigO, 9(3), with Alain Bertrand and Pierre Montagne.
2008 - "Strong Support for Weak Performance: Donor Competition in Madagascar" African Affairs 107(428): 405-431.
2008 - "Madagascar's Biodiversity Conservation Challenge: from Local- to National-Level Dynamics" Environmental Sciences, 5(2): 109-128.
2008 - "Behind Sacredness: Rules, Local Interests, and Forest Conservation in Bara Country, Madagascar" in Nyamweru, Celia and Michael Sheridan (eds.) African Ethnoforests: Sacred Groves, Culture, and Conservation. James Currey and Oxford University Press: 117-132.
2007 - "Les nouvelles idées de gestion locale des ressources renouvelables et le processus de promulgation de la loi 96-025" in Zo Razanamaharo, and Andrew Cooke (eds.), Le Transfert de Gestion à Madagascar, Dix Ans d'Efforts: Tanteza, RESOLVE/CIRAD/CITE: 21-28, with Alain Bertrand in Pierre Montagne.
2005 - "The Cost of Ignoring Rules: Forest Conservation and Rural Livelihood Outcomes in Madagascar" Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, Vol. 15: 149-166.
2004 - "How Rules Affect Conservation Outcomes" in Goodman, Stephen and Jonathan Benstead (eds.) The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press: 146-153.
Research Interests
Development in Sub-Sahraran Africa
The Politics of Biodiversity Conservation
Community-Based Natural Resource Management
Institutions, Interests, and Rule Compliance