This course will challenge the students to look beyond representations of the African continent as marked only by poverty and conflict. It will explore issues related to the creative potential of african societies for the creation of innovative employment and economic growth (SDG8 and 9) through offering alternative opportunities to Youth groups. The focus on peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG16) will remain central to the understanding of the processes of state formation in Africa and to compare contradictory evidence on trends for state consolidation and desintegration. Without socio-economic rights the current trend towards authoritarianisms across Africa and the return of coup d’etats in West Africa and in Eastern Africa cannot be mitigated because poverty, hunger, and vulnerability to climate change and a lack of opportunities remain paramount. Political rights that ae reduced to voting cannot sustain the wave of democratization started in the 1990s. The course will touch upon most of the SDGs.