This course has been designed to promote and encourage the Portuguese-speaking countries’ (PSC’s) scientific study, adopting both perspectives: International Relations and Political Science. The PSC will be organized in three groups (Portuguese-speaking small developing island states, African Portuguese-speaking countries and Ibero-American Portuguese-speaking countries), taking into consideration their intrinsic characteristics and regional location. The study theoretical framework will be grounded in the post-colonial studies, regional development and globalization, and focus on the post-independence political, economic and social developments. Finally, this course also aims to encourage further post-graduate research on PSC in specific or thematic areas.

CILO-1: Identify the Portuguese-speaking countries’ (PSC’s) major post-independence developments in relation to political and economic systems and their regional and global integration. CILO-2: Recognize the PSC’s major geographical features, namely their Economic Exclusive Zone and their neighboring relations as well as their linkage between the PSC national development plans and the major spatial development initiatives. CILO-3: Recognize the existence of least developed countries among the PSC, and discuss its implications for their development objectives, within the context of their national development plans. CILO-4: Discuss the concept of Lusophony in its political, economic and social dimensions and the potential of the PSC vis-à-vis People’s Republic of China, in terms of economics and political cooperation. CILO-5: Apply the post-colonialism theoretical framework to identify the characteristics of each PSC as the basis for further study.