Niger’s political history has seen more than its share of military interventions in its political life: military rule has prevailed for twenty-one years during the forty years of independence; there have been seven different institutional regimes; four out of the six presidents were soldiers; there have been seven mutinies and other troop rebellions; three successful military coups during the recent democratisation process, and at least four coup attempts. A critical analysis of the military phenomenon, if not an assessment, would help envisage new prospects for Niger’s future. This multidisciplinary study is from a historical and sociological perspective, of the long-standing involvement of the army in politics from the 19th century. It aims to answer why the army is so deeply involved in politics in Niger. IN FRENCH. 288pp, SENEGAL. CODESRIA.

Spending nearly two years as a Wodaabe, within a Wodaabe extended family and alternating between the nomadic setting of the bush and the urbanised life-style of the capital, Niamey, Loftsdottír was in a unique position to observe the effects that increasing urbanisation and globalisation, together with the modern tourist industry's preconceptions and demands, have had on the identity and power relations of the Wodaabe. Interwoven with the abstract scientific observations are the more personal reflections and analyses of a young white woman on living within, and sharing all aspects of, the everyday lives of the Wodaabe with the broad spectrum of reactions which this entails. 250pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE.

Portrait of Muslim women in Niger as they confront the challenges and opportunities of modernity. Contrary to Western stereotypes of passive subordination, these women are taking control of their own lives and resisting domination from indigenous traditions, Westernisation, and Islam alike. Based on thorough scholarly research and extensive fieldwork Alidou's work offers insights into the meaning of modernity for Muslim women in Niger. Mixing biography with sociological data, social theory, and linguistic analysis, this is a multi-layered vision of political Islam, education, popular culture, and war and its aftermath. 264pp, USA. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS.

Over the last twenty years circumstances have become ever more difficult for the marginal people living in rural and urban Niger. This books adopts a bottom to top viewpoint considering how best to fight poverty. Particular insights are drawn from the experience of beggars. IN FRENCH, 288pp, FRANCE. KARTHALA.

An anthropological study of female fattening in an Arab village in Niger. The author demonstrates the concepts of desire, health, kinship and the control of sexuality through ideals of female beauty. Offers new perspectives on both African ideals of body images and Western concepts of slimness. Index, bib, gloss, notes, xv, 230pp, UK. ROUTLEDGE.

Documents Tuareg responses to medicine and healing in northern Niger's predicament of ecological disaster, economic crisis, and political tension. BNS, notes, bib, 250pp, USA. BERGIN & GARVEY, 0897897617

Explores the shifting cultural attitudes to marriage and the role of women, while governments and individuals seek to maintain control over women. B/w illus, notes, bib, index, xlix, 228pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

An in-depth examination of the interaction between French colonial development theory and practice at the Office du Niger in what was then French Soudan (Mali). Focusing on the Office du Niger's irrigation project it analyses how and why development policies emerge, persist and change. The author argues that Africans not only influenced farming and marketing practices, but also re-shaped French concepts of rural development, as well as transforming French colonial perceptions of Africans and African societies, of importance to historians of colonialism in African as well as to scholars, students and policy makers working on issues of develop-ment theory and practice. xxxviii+214pp, maps, tables, index, photos, UK and USA. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852556497

Why do young men use mirrors and make-up more than girls? Why do the Wodaabe nomads of West Africa have beauty parades for men? Wodaabe's extraordinary and unique live performances are often misunderstood by outsiders. The book provides some answers about these aesthetic activities. One answer is courtship and "wife-stealing ceremonies" involving enemy clans, another is ethnic identity. Beauty and existence are linked. Wodaabe dances and visual arts are not "exotic" but are arenas for social action and identity politics in the largely agricultural society of the arid regions of Niger, Nigeria and Chad. Colour photos, 128pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE, 9171064672

Although the term 'natural disaster' applies to the December 2004 tsunami, the images of huge devastation that were televised after the tragedy probably seemed a good deal less 'natural' than those of starving African children we saw seven months later, from Niger. The tsunami was perceived as so 'un-natural' that it provoked an immediate, unprecedented international outpouring of sympathy. It took many months, by contrast, for the story of a new famine in the Sahel to make headlines. From the outset its causes were apparent in media coverage: droughts and locust invasions have always seemed the everyday lot of people living in this region. The link between the crisis and its natural causes was so self-evident that the first news reports tended to omit the point that, in reality, drought and the locust invasion had overtaken the Sahel region a year earlier. Nevertheless it became Medecins Sans Frontieres' aim to see it acknowledged, not in the press, but among those institutions responsible for food security in Niger, that the deaths of tens of thousands of children as a result of malnutrition would not be considered 'natural' phenomenon, still less a normal one. Index, 228pp, UK. HURST.

The author explains how the spread of Islam has provoked irreversible change in Niger and how prayer has become synonymous with the loss of tradition. She reveals how possession nonetheless remains embedded in Mawri culture, representing more than simple resistance to Islam, patriarchy, or the state. 25 b/w photos, 2 maps, 352pp, USA. DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0822326396

This study shows how difficult it is for Niger to significantly change its expenditure composition in a short time span. A narrow and volatile domestic resource base, heavy dependence on aid, and a large share of pre-determined expenditures such as external debt payments are important factors behind this lack of flexibility. 146pp, USA. WORLD BANK PUBLICATIONS. DELAY.

Gives an account of meetings held with government authorities, civil society organizations, indigenous communities and other stakeholders, it describes the situation of the indigenous populations in the Republic of Niger and it makes recommendations to the Niger government, civil society organizations and the international community. 68pp, DENMARK. IWGIA.

Comprehensive study of this oppression institution in Niger. Bib, apps, map, charts, 123pp, UK. ANTI-SLAVERY INTERNATIONAL.

Decolonisation and change in Niger - independence and the transformations it brought. 292pp, BNS, in French, FRANCE. L'HARMATTAN.

In the small town of Dogondoutchi, Niger, Malam Awal, a charismatic Sufi preacher, was recruited by local Muslim leaders to denounce the practices of reformist Muslims. Malam Awal's message has been viewed as a mixed blessing by Muslim women who have seen new definitions of Islam and Muslim practice impact their place and role in society. This study follows the career of Malam Awal and documents the engagement of women in the religious debates that are refashioning their everyday lives. Adeline Masquelier reveals how these women have had to define Islam on their own terms, especially as a practice that governs education, participation in prayer, domestic activities, wedding customs, and who wears the veil and how. 376pp, USA. INDIANA U P.