Lineages of State Fragility (Western Afrecan Studies Series): Rural Civil Society in Guinea-Bissau FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Forrest argues that despite European influences, the contemporary fragility of African states can be fully appreciated only by examining the indigenous social context in which these states evolved. Focusing on Guinea-Bissau, Forrest exposes the emergence of a strong and adaptable "rural civil society" that can be traced back to precolonial times." "Lineages of State Fragility analyzes the social, political, and military experiences of rural civil society and villagers' success in maintaining their autonomy. Forrest identifies interethnic social and military practices that became entrenched in rural social structures and continued to evolve through the colonial period, enabling Guinea-Bissauans to resist state predation." Lineages of State Fragility offers an unorthodox explanation of African politics by tracing direct social links among the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial periods and affirms the role of rural actors in determining present-day political outcomes.
SYNOPSIS
Forrest (political science, U. of Vermont) points out the disjuncture between the central state and rural civil society in Guinea-Bissau, particularly the continuing ability of rural civil society to evade and resist state power. He argues that contemporary fragility of African states is best appreciated by examining the indigenous social context in which those states evolved. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Foreign Affairs
Poverty, political instability, and ineffectual administration have plagued the small West African nation of Guinea-Bissau since its independence from Portugal in 1974. Forrest's carefully researched study explains this failure, and Portugal's earlier lackluster attempts at modernization, with the thesis that state weakness in Guinea-Bissau is the result of the resilient strength of its rural society. Chiefs, lineage heads, spirit mediums who oversee shrine-based secret societies, and rural networks with roots in the precolonial past so dominate land allocation and rural trade that neither colonial nor postcolonial governments have been able to exercise clear authority over the nation's agricultural resources — an intriguing analysis that challenges prevailing theories of state-building.
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