NOTE: The Final assignment has been changed.  You will now be doing only the essay below for the final paper grade.  The earlier Part I (the homework handed in on April 25) will be graded as a homework assignment and will not count as half of the paper grade. This is because this homework assignment proved too difficult for many students and we do not want to penalize you on the final paper grade.

The Essay Topic:

"Power and Authority relations are most readily manifest when people are attempting to solve real world concrete problems of importance to them. "

Focusing on the local level political actors (village headmen- maigari, local political party officials, canton chiefs, sous prefets, sarki) write an essay dealing with this general proposition with regard to two of the following:

1) how power and authority relations show up and play out in the choice of local-level leaders

2) how they show up in dealing with access to and the use of the natural environment

3) how they show up in terms of the settlement of disputes around access to farm and pasture land.

In writing your essay consider the following points and incorporate them as well as you can in your essay

•  not only the formal roles of these authorities but the informal relationships of power, including the sources of power and authority that come from religion and magic.
•  how the relationships among various local political actors have changed  as the broader political system has changed from colonial to independent single party, to military regime and competitive multiparty "democratic" system.

In addition, be sure to define or explain the key concepts and processes or principles (briefly)

AND be sure to document your essay making reference to the appropriate lectures/ Powerpoint demonstrations, videos, cases and Readings.

Provide a properly formatted bibliography of the readings considered in writing this essay

The Essay should not exceed 3 pages plus the bibliography.