Hi Ebrima! Congrats on the publication of your book. I'll get my copy. I'll give you a call. Have a good day. Buharry. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ebrima Ceesay" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Saturday, September 09, 2006 2:34 AM Subject: A MUST-READ BOOK ON GAMBIAN POLITICS PUBLISHED > 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. > > いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい > 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] > いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい 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] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい