Ebrima, congrats on your accomplishment and I look forward to reading your thoughts about the state of our nation. Chi Jaama Joe >From: "Ebrima Ceesay" <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: [log in to unmask] >To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask] >Subject: [>-<] A MUST-READ BOOK ON GAMBIAN POLITICS PUBLISHED >Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2006 00:27:25 +0000 > >[ This e-mail is posted to Gambia|Post e-Gathering by "Ebrima Ceesay" ] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Dear readers, > > > >With only a few days to go before the next Presidential Election in The >Gambia, I am very pleased to announce that I have written a book on Gambian >Politics under Yahya Jammeh and it can now be purchased online. > > > >Published in Canada by Trafford Publishing, the book is titled: The >Military and 'Democratisation' in The Gambia: 1994-2003. It has ten >fascinating chapters and 345 pages. The size of the book is 6 inches x 9 >inches and it is available in both trade paperback (softcover) and >hardcover. Take note of the fact that the hardcover is more expensive than >the paperback(softcover). The book’s ISBN number is: 1-4251-0103-8. > > > >The book is available for sale online and it can be ordered online at >www.trafford.com/06-1860 > >Excerpts from the book can be seen/read on my webpage. > > > >Alternatively, you can ring Trafford UK or Trafford Canada and order the >book over the phone. These are the contact addresses of Trafford UK and >Trafford Canada: > > > >Trafford Publishing > >2333 Government Street > >Suite 6E > >Victoria, British Columbia > >Canada, V8T 4P4 > >Tel: 250 383 6864 > >Toll Free: 1-888-232-4444 (from Canada and USA) > >Fax: 250 383 6814 > > > >Or > > > >Trafford Publishing (UK) Ltd. > >9 Park End Street, 2nd Floor > >Oxford, OX1 1HH > >United Kingdom > >Tel: 01865 722 113 or 0845 230 9601 > >Fax: 01865 722 868 > > > >This is a very thought provoking book on a very important subject/topic. In >fact, it is the most comprehensive book ever written on the military and >the democratisation process in The Gambia. It’s very well-written and there >is, of course, a clear link between the theory and the very solid empirical >evidence. Needless to mention, the theoretical framework is very clearly >presented. This timely and incisive book provides an original and detailed >analysis of the root causes of the 1994 coup d’etat in The Gambia, the >motivations behind the juniors officers who seized power, as well as >critically examines post-coup politics in The Gambia from 1996 to 2003. > > > >In other words, the book offers lucid, original, important and critical >insights into our understanding of contemporary Gambian politics. Anyone >who wishes to understand Gambian Politics under Yahya Jammeh is advised to >buy this book. The study is also a valuable addition to the literature on >the military and the democratisation process in Africa. > >My book will be a vital text for any student of African Politics who wishes >to study Gambian Politics. It will be an essential guide for academic >researchers, students, politicians, journalists and policy makers who wish >to understand the nature and scope of the most recent political changes >that occurred in The Gambia, in the wake of the 1994 coup d’etat. > > > >In a similar development, be informed that another important book on >Gambian Politics/History will be released on 27th October 2006. The book is >titled "A Political History of The Gambia, 1816-1994"and is written by >Professor Arnold Hughes and Dr David Perfect, both Gambianists or >experts/specialists in Gambian Affairs. Professor Arnold Hughes is former >Director and Emeritus Professor of African Politics, Centre of West African >Studies, University of Birmingham, UK. This 560-page book can also be >ordered online at www.boydell.co.uk/80462308.HTM > > > >Anyone interested in the political history of The Gambia will find this >book an important source of insight. The book should be core reading for >anyone with an interest in Gambian Politics/History. It contains insightful >and well-articulated analyses of pre- and post independence politics in The >Gambia. > > > >Meanwhile, for more about my book, you can read the write-up below, culled >from the webpage created by Trafford Publishing for my book. > > > >Regards, > >Ebrima Ceesay > > > > > >ABOUT THE BOOK: The Military and ‘Democratisation’ in The Gambia: >1994-2003 > > > > > >This book - The Military and ‘Democratisation’ in The Gambia: 1994-2003 (By >Ebrima Ceesay) - provides an account of significant political developments >in a small West African country, The Gambia, about which such information >is not readily available. It is a robustly written account of the very >fluid politics of The Gambia over the last ten years since the coup that >ousted President Dawda Jawara. The author is able to bring an enviable >amount of first-hand understanding to the case at hand. He was a newspaper >editor in The Gambia and also a correspondent there for the BBC. The book >addresses a subject of much current interest in the wider development and >policy-related literatures and much of the information makes an original >contribution to knowledge in the area of democracy and military rule in The >Gambia. The study thus constitutes an original contribution to >the growing scholarship on The Gambia. It also makes a contribution to the >existing literature on democratisation and the military in West Africa. > > > >The book undertakes the much needed research into recent political >developments in The Gambia, and sets this in the wider context of West >African politics. It provides an in-depth study of events in The Gambia >prior to and post 1994 and examines The Gambian case in a theoretical >context pertaining to Africa in general, and the West African sub-region in >particular. > > > >The fundamental concern of this book is to determine whether it is possible >for a nation to democratise under 'military' rule. Following the 1994 coup >d’etat, The Gambia had military rule until 1997. After two Presidential >elections, it remained under 'quasi-military' rule, the military having >merely been thinly disguised in civilian clothes. The central argument of >this book is that in the case of The Gambia, it has not been possible to >democratise under either ‘military’ or ‘quasi-military’ rule. The country >is far from being democratic and the democratisation process has barely >begun. The Gambia operates under an authoritarian regime with strong >military overtones. > > > >The 1994 coup d’etat in The Gambia took place at a time when most of Africa >was moving towards democratisation. At the same time, The Gambia moved away >from democratisation and into military dictatorship. This Gambian >'exceptionalism' in recent regional, continental and global political >development is explained and analysed in the book. The study presents a >conceptual and empirical analysis of the recent 'democratisation' processes >under the military and military-turned civilian regimes in The Gambia. It >uses conceptual or analytical insights, drawn from the general literature >on military regimes in Africa, to inform understanding of the case study. >The book raises a number of very pertinent questions concerning the place >of the military in a modern African polity, and the varied contexts and >contested nature of this role. > > > >The book sets out to assess the military regime that seized power in The >Gambia in July 1994, and which remains in power to the present day - having >formally converted itself into an "elected" civilian regime through managed >elections from which the military leader emerged victorious. > > > >It is broadly concerned with four themes: a) pre-independence politics in >The Gambia, the Jawara years and the causes of his overthrow; b) the coup >d’etat that brought the military regime to power on 22 July 1994; c) the >subsequent conduct of the military regime, with particular concern for its >attempt to legitimise itself through elections; and d) the question of >whether The Gambia can be regarded as a democracy, to which the author has >returned a decided negative. > > > >Four main questions are posed. What were the causes of the military coup in >The Gambia? What were the various phases of military rule? How has the >military performed in office? Has The Gambia returned to a functioning >democratic state following the 1996 and 2001 elections? The findings >indicate that the military intervention was prompted by a combination of >political, economic and social problems in the country. The 1994 coup >d’etat in The Gambia is best seen as the outcome of two main variables: the >societal/economic/political factors which made military intervention a >possibility, set against the motivations of junior officers of the Gambia >National Army to intervene in the government of The Gambia because of their >own dissatisfactions and possible personal aspirations. Direct military >rule was in two phases and the military’s leadership performance was poor >in >respect of human and civil rights in both phases, although there were some >modest gains in socio-economic terms. Despite the holding of elections, The >Gambia remains undemocratic. > > > >The study is based on newspaper reports, interviews and the author’s own >experiences as a journalist in The Gambia until his departure from the >country in 1996, together with published sources. The empirical element in >the book is accompanied by a survey of literature in the field, notably >relating to military regimes in general, and especially in Africa. The >treatment of empirical developments and academic sources in the book is >both descriptive and conceptual. > > > >The ten chapters (including a general conclusion) which make up the book >are logically structured; general aims and objectives, which are clearly >identified in the introductory chapter, are pursued in a sustained way in >the subsequent discussion. Early presentations of approach, objectives and >strategy combine with overviews of pre-1994 politics and economics in the >opening two chapters. Along with the summary of the circumstances >surrounding the military’s intervention in politics in 1994 (Chapter 3), >these serve as a prelude to the detailed evaluation of the military’s >performance in government; and the circumstances, processes and >consequences of the army’s transformation into a "democratic" civilian (in >reality a "quasi-military") regime, which constitutes the middle third, and >core, of the book. > > > >The final third of the book focuses on the fortunes of both democracy and >politics under a quasi-military regime, and tries to draw lessons from this >experience for a serious consideration of the role of the military in >democratic politics. The penultimate chapter offers recommendations for >deterring future coups in The Gambia and elsewhere in Africa, while a >general conclusion presents a cogent summary of the principal findings and >conclusions. > > > > > > > > >----------------------------gambiapost.NET------------------------------ >------LATEST NEWS FROM THE GAMBIA, NOW AT:>>------- >http://www.gambiapost.net/newspaper > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤