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List of contents
Introduction 1. The Politics of Senegambian Kinship Discourses 2. The Political and Economic Context of the Gambia-Senegal Border 3. Transport, Cross-Border Practices and Interstate Political Relations 4. Politics and the Disintegration of the Common Transport Newtwork, 2000-2015 5. Tactics for Survival: Jakarta, Civil Society and the Media 6. Cross-Border Trade and the Gambia-Senegal Relations 7. Senegambia's Talibee Networks, the State and Cross-Border Exchange 8. Conclusion
About the author
Mariama Khan is a Gambian scholar, poet, filmmaker and cultural activist. She currently teaches African History, West African Cinema and African Civilizations at the Lehman College Africana Studies Department, City University of New York (CUNY).
Summary
This book interrogates the validity of longstanding claims that Gambians and Senegalese are "one" people in two countries and explores how that claim intersects with the politics and development needs of the two countries.
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"In this insightful and compelling book, Khan offers a nuanced examination of the contentious border between the Gambia and Senegal. Much can be gleaned from reading her account in this groundbreaking analysis. African politics is replete with problematic borders that were defined arbitrarily and unevenly by European conquest. In this case study of an area that has brought much political focus, Khan deftly navigates the terrain with precision that will create a lasting dialogue in African Studies courses." — Mark Christian, Professor & Chair, Department of Africana Studies, Lehman College – City University of New York, USA
"This book examines issues of cross-border trade, transport, and religious networks, in the Senegal/Gambia borderlands, both in themselves and in relation to politico-economic development. Kinship notions are used to investigate how culture and language affect inter-state relations. The study contributes significantly to the scarce supply of published research on these issues. It is heavily empirical, thereby revealing new perspectives and new areas for further research. It is refreshing." — Jeggan C. Senghor, University of London, UK
"Mariama Khan offers insight and long experience, from varied angles, on a nation within a nation, with bigger implications abroad. Here genealogical, cultural, religious, and commercial continuities belie superficial differences of tongue, bread, and currency, provoking deep questions on former colonies, borders, their meanings, and manipulations. A read to recommend." — Parker Shipton, Professor of Anthropology and Research Fellow in African Studies, Boston University, USA
"This is a wonderful and essential book on a significant topic: the ways in which African leaders can use affective cultural symbols to build better interstate relations and regional integration. Khan’s book is a major contr
