Democracy in Senegal Tocquevillian Analytics in Africa

by Gellar, Sheldon

• ISBN13: 9781403970268
• ISBN10: 1403970262
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-17
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

Preface	viii
Map of Senegal	xii
Acronyms and Abbreviations	xiv
Chronology of Events	xvi
Chapter One Tocquevillian Analytics in Africa	1	(12)
Chapter Two Point of Departure	13	(14)
Chapter Three The Old Order and Colonialism	27	(17)
Chapter Four Centralization and Democratic Despotism	44	(15)
Chapter Five Local Liberties	59	(16)
Chapter Six Political Associations, Parties, and the Press	75	(17)
Chapter Seven The Art of Association	92	(16)
Chapter Eight Spirit of Religion	108	(16)
Chapter Nine Language	124	(16)
Chapter Ten Equality	140	(16)
Chapter Eleven Democracy in Senegal: A Balance Sheet	156	(16)
Chapter Twelve The Future of Democracy in Africa	172	(16)
Notes	188	(20)
Bibliography	208	(9)
Index	217