Democracy in Senegal: Tocquevillian Analytics in Africa [Paperback]

Sheldon Gellar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2005 | ISBN-10: 1403970270 | ISBN-13: 978-1403970275

Providing an in-depth comparative study of democracy formation, Gellar traces Senegal's movement from a pre-colonial aristocratic order towards a modern democratic political order. Inspired by Tocqueville's methodology, he identifies social equality, ethnic and religious tolerance, popular participation in local affairs, and freedom of association and the press as vital components of any democratic system. He shows how centralized state structures and monopoly of political power stifled local initiative and perpetuated neo-patrimonial modes of governance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book proposes a fresh way of looking at Senegalese politics and of assessing prospects for democracy in Africa. Gellar shifts the scale of analysis from an exclusive focus on the national level to a focus that considers local-level politics as well. This is a refreshing way to approach the study of politics in an African country, and it generates many useful comparisons between France, the US, and Senegal. The net result is a book that is mind-opening and provocative, and that will be interesting for university students as well as professionals who study African politics."--Catherine Boone, University of Texas at Austin

"40 years of research and travel in Senegal have made Sheldon Gellar one of the most knowledgeable analysts of that country. In this book, he uses the ideas of Alexis de Toqueville to enrich our understanding of one of Africa's most vibrant democracies. It is a creative marriage of two passions, one for democratic theory, the other for a country he loves."--Martin A. Klein, Professor Emeritus of history, University of Toronto

"Gellar's is an important, refreshing statement, which must be read by any serious student of African politics”
--Donal B. Cruise O'Brien, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

About the Author

Sheldon Gellar is a Visiting Scholar at the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University. He has worked in francophone Africa as researcher, teacher, and international development consultant for more than forty years on democracy and development issues. He is the author of Structural Changes and Colonial Dependency: Senegal: 1885-1945 and Senegal: An African Nation Between Islam and the West. Dr. Gellar also served as Democracy advisor to the USAID/Senegal mission in 1998-1999.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (August 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403970270
• ISBN-13: 978-1403970275
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,020,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > History > Africa > Senegal

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