Mr. Ebrima Ceesay wrote: "...To understand the political situation in The Gambia (and West Africa) and why our people "support" incumbents even when they are certain that their leaders are corrupt and brutal, it seems to me that we need to be researching the matters of patrimonialism and politics of the personality, and how these impact on ordinary citizens' perceptions and expectations of government." Ebrima, you are quite right. I am myself a little aware of this phenomenon some writers call neo-patrimonialism and it would be very exciting to discuss it to further our understanding of why even liberal capitalism failed in much of Africa. Unfortunately, I work with computers and I have not only become very rusty in politics but I find it increasingly difficult to keep abreast of much inspiring theory. All the more reason why I will keenly anticipate your contribution on this phenomenon, i.e as soon as you clear your desk. (Let me just mention in passing that for the same reason, I find the writings of Hamjatta, Hamadi, Kebba, Yus, Jabou, Buharry, and many others very positively provocative and inspiring). Otherwise, I really sympathise with you for the cold. That the rainmaker in B'ham is working overtime is certainly not helping you. But I hope you get well soon, and as we used to say in this space, Keep Up The Good Work Down There. Momodou S Sidibeh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------