Democracy in Senegal Tocquevillian Analytics in Africa [Hardcover]

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.Tocqueville in Africa Point of Departure The Old Order and Colonialism Centralization and Democratic Despotism Local Liberties Political Parties, Associations, and the Press The Art of Association Spirit of Religion Language Equality Democracy in Senegal The Future of Democracy in Africa

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 stlS0