Argues that developing countries, given their extreme economic vulnerability, are likely to be better served by maintaining flexible exchange rate regimes. Using the econometric analysis of the current balance of payments of Nigeria and Ghana, this book examines the features common to the economic position of developing countries (such as recurring deficits and continual increases in external debt). 182pp, UK. ASHGATE PUBLISHERS.

There is currently no comprehensive study of the status of security sector governance in West Africa. Many efforts to understand governance of the security sector in Africa have been directed either at individual countries or at providing a general analysis of the state and security in Africa. This book is intended to contribute to confidence and peace-building through developing a better understanding of the challenges of security sector governance and generating practical policy recommendations based on work conducted by West African experts. It analyses the nature of security sector governance in each of the 16 West African states, provides an assessment of the effectiveness of governance mechanisms, in particular relating to democratic oversight of the security sector, and takes into account the regional and international dimensions to the issue. 412pp, GERMANY. LIT VERLAG.

An examination of the linkages between civil society, good governance, and regional security in West Africa providing an in depth study into how civil society in the region has fared in promoting good governance and democratic peace. Index, refs, notes, xii, 383pp, NIGERIA. VANTAGE, 9788000398

2003 Paperback

A study of conflict and post conflict reconstruction in West Africa discussing issues such as child soldiers, the dynamics of civil war, state and social disintegration, and multilateral agencies and post conflict peace. Sierra Leone and Liberia are studied in particular detail. Notes, refs, x, 225pp, NIGERIA. COLLEGE PRESS (NIGERIA), 9782194271

An ethnographic study of the concepts of ageing, time and reproduction in rural Gambia. Researched over three years, the author uses demographic data and anthrological understanding offer new perspectives on the concepts of time as shaped by women's conjugal lives. Index, refs, app, tables, figs, xx, 396pp, USA. CHICAGO U P, 0226058522

Collection of essays critically interrogates the internal dimensions of the identity and citizenship crises at the root of the political crises of states in West Africa, and considers the steps that have been taken thus far to address them. It shows how the progressive alienation of ordinary people from the state, coupled with factors of historical identity and post-colonial citizenship are at the heart of the political crisis and conflicts in the region; and argues that these matters must be addressed if West African states are to achieve democratic nationhood. 235pp, SENEGAL. CODESRIA.

Based on experience with refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia in Guinea, this is a cry from the heart to an ailing humanity to take stock of its situation and take remedial action. 4 b/w ill, xi, 205pp, UK. BLOOZOO PUBLISHING, 1903649021

A study analysing democratic transition in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia. The author looks at corruption, the rise of the military, the appropriation of gender politics and human rights in the deepening divide between the state and civil society. Bib, notes, viii, 79pp, SENEGAL. CODESRIA, 2869781229

The 1960s was a pivotal decade in African history. The author looks at the political and ideological battles take marked those years and traces the impact of Sekou Toure, Kwame Nkrumah, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Felix Houphouet Boigny, Modibo Keita and William V.S. Tubman. This study emphasises the leadership qualities of these men and looks at issues of ego, ideology, political history, personal circumstances and foreign influences, rather than the inner workings of each state. Index, notes, xiii, 177pp, UK. PALGRAVE, 1403965498

Seventeen essays on three themes: understanding the dynamics of land tenure - recognising local rights: new approaches - linking local & national legal systems, with perspectives on Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal. Case studies by West Africans offering new ways of understanding land tenure in the region. Index, bib, charts & tables, map, UK and USA. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852554192

Forged out of a long, often contradictory, always contested trajectory of state formation, dissolution, and recomposition that has been accompanied at different stages by widespread population movements, the West African sub-region has, inevitably, grappled with a wide range of core, enduring governance questions. These questions have contributed, to one degree or another, to the making and character of contemporary state systems, as well as the political cultures underpinning them. This synthesis report is a quick and easily digestible summary of some of the key developments in West Africa which had a direct bearing on governance in the subregion during 2006. IN ENGLISH & FRENCH. 68pp, SENEGAL. CODESRIA.

The broad objective of the study is to appraise the readiness of West African countries to provide health care in post-conflict environments. It is particularly concerned with the building of sustainable national and regional human, material and institutional capacity in order to confront specific health problems induced by conflict. 215pp, NIGERIA. UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC.

The end of the Cold War has been characterised by a wave of violent civil wars that have produced unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and suffering. Although mostly intra-state, these conflicts have spread across borders and threatened international peace and security through mass refugee flow, proliferation of light arms and the rise of local mercenary groups. One of the most affected areas is the West African sub-region which has been home to some of Africa's most brutal and intractable conflicts for more than a decade. Kabia locates these operations within an expanded post-Cold War conceptualisation of humanitarian intervention and examines the organisation's capacity in protecting civilians at risk in civil conflicts and facilitating the processes of peacemaking and post-war peace-building aimed at preventing a relapse into conflict. By using the empirical case of ECOWAS, this book examines the challenges posed by complex political emergencies (CPEs) to humanitarian intervention. 234pp, UK. ASHGATE.

Examines regional economic integration in West Africa within the context of the institutional evolution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It uses the tools of the New Institutional Economics School (NIE) to explore the origins and development of the most recent ECOWAS Treaty. Particular attention is given to the interface between domestic legal arrangements and the success of open markets at the regional and international levels. 190pp, UK. ASHGATE.

Why did Africans bring their most intimate domestic disputes to the newly created native courts in the period after 1905? And what do these disputes tell us about everyday life and social change? To answer these questions, Roberts uses all 2,062 civil disputes heard at the provincial level native courts for four districts between 1905 and 1912. He concludes that changes in social relations occurring at a time of accelerated change associated with colonial conquest and the end of slavery interacted with institutional changes, namely the creation of the new native courts, to produce discernible patterns of litigation. Moreover, these patterns of litigation point to trouble spots in African society, thus providing a lens into the most ordinary aspects of daily life. 336pp, USA. HEINEMANN USA.

ISS Monograph number 118, analyses the complex threats to a fragile peace in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea and on the stalemate in Cote d'Ivoire. Notes, 80pp, SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES.

This collection seeks to complement and advance recent studies on regionalism in Africa and the implications that this has for the continent's development. The two case studies on cross-border micro-regionalism in the borderlands of Mali-Burkina Faso and Niger-Nigeria are part of the work of the West Africa Borders and Integration (WABI). 36pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE.

Analysis of the world of open air marketplaces of West Africa Clark studies specifically the market women of Kumasi Central Market, Ghana. Concentrates on the key social forces that generate, maintain and continually reshape shifting market dynamics. Index, refs, tables, graphs, b/w photography, maps, xxiv, 464pp, USA. CHICAGO UNIVERSITY PRESS 0226107809

A synthesis of 3000 years history: the western Bantu, agriculture, metalurgy, colonialism and conquest. Maps, index, bib, notes, 428pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 085255074X

If political freedom is growing, economic security is not. These seven essays focus on Senegal, Ivory Coast, Burkina, Nigeria, with some regional surveys. Some bib stats and refs, mostly in French (and 1 essay in English), FRANCE. KARTHALA, 2845860129

ISS Monograph number 116. Focuses on the factors behind the demand for weapons ion Sierra Leone and Liberia to determine whether proliferation can be stemmed or slowed. Bib, notes, 106pp, SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES.

Through a number of case studies from the West African Sahel, this book links and explores natural resources management from the perspectives of three distinct but interrelated spheres (politics, property and production) and within a broad and empirically based political ecology. Maps, tables, figs, notes, refs, 333pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE, 9171064761

In recent decades, Africa's poverty-driven artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector has attracted significant donor aid. The majority of initiatives, however, have been undertaken without careful analysis of target communities; consequently, there has been minimal improve-ment overall in a rapidly-expanding industry. This book aims to facilitate a radical change in the way in which policies and support services are implemented for ASM by underscoring the importance of improving understanding of the industry's population and industry dynamics. Focusing upon the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the book raises important questions concerning the general approach taken to deliver support for ASM, and presents findings from community-based research, a key to strengthening industry policy and assistance. 320pp, UK. ITDG PUBLISHING.

Challenges the distinction between tradition and modernity by tracing the movement and mutation of the powerful Talensi god and ancestor shrine, Tongnaab, from the savanna of northern Ghana through the forests and coastal plains of the south. Using a wide range of written, oral, and iconographic sources, Allman and Parker uncover the historical dynamics of cross-cultural religious belief and practice. They reveal how Tongnaab has been intertwined with many themes and events in West African history--the slave trade, colonial conquest and rule, capitalist agriculture and mining, labour migration, shifting ethnicities, the production of ethnographic knowledge, and the political projects that brought about the modern nation state. 272pp, USA. INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS.

A selection of essays presented at a conference in Ngaoundere, Cameroon in 1993. They deal with the transformation of female identities in Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal and discuss whether women's associations work to overcome male domination. Articles are written in either English or French. Index, bib, notes, map, 243pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE, 9171064036

New in paperback. Over the last several decades, historians have conducted extensive research into contact between the United States and West Africa during the era of the transatlantic trade. Yet we still understand relatively little about more recent relations between the two nations. This multidisciplinary volume presents the most comprehensive analysis of the US-West African relationship to date, filling a significant gap in the literature by examining the social, cultural, political, and economic bonds that have, in recent years, drawn these two world regions into increasingly closer contact. Index, 476pp, USA. UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER PRESS.

Now in paperback for the first time, this is a study of history and religion, presenting "not only an admirable portrait of Cerno Bokar, mystic and teacher, and one of the outstanding figures in the historical and doctrinal development of West African Sufism, but also a penetrating insight into the religious experience." (F. Abiola Irele). Index, bib, map, 213pp, UK. HURST & Co. PUBLISHERS.

Short discussion paper which looks at the structural framework of the West African economy and assess its potential in its historical context, as a region of high population density and prolonged military rule. Bib, 34pp, SENEGAL, 2869781040

A comprehensive assessment of the resulting mix of setbacks and progress West Africa has experienced during its decade of conflicts. The authors provide a context for understanding the region's security dilemmas, highlighting the link between failures of economic development, governance, and democracy and military insecurity. Index, bib, notes, maps, xvi, 448pp, USA. LYNNE RIENNER, 1588262847

Highlights the necessity for taking preventive measures in the form of peace building as a sustainable and long-term solution to conflicts in West Africa, with a special focus on the Mano River Union countries. Given the often intractable and inter-related nature of conflicts in this region, it argues for the need to revisit the existing mechanisms of conflict resolution in the sub-region with a view to canvassing a stronger case for stakeholders towards adopting the peace-building strategy as a more practical and sustainable way of avoiding wars in the sub-region. 116pp, SENEGAL. CODESRIA.

Focusing primarily on The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, this research project identifies the areas of law that affect the lives of women in West Africa and determines the impact of such laws. 311pp, GHANA. SEDCO PUBLISHING.

A study of legal issues affecting women in West Africa, looking at how women cope. The contributors bring perspectives from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia and discuss topics such as parenting, fostering, adoption and domestic employment. BNS, 230pp, GHANA. SEDCO PUBLISHING LTD.