This paper examines the effects of agricultural policies in the Gambia since independence from Great Britain in 1965. Under the two governments that have ruled the country since then, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) led by Dawda Jawara (1965–1994) and the Alliance for Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction (APRC) led by Yahya Jammeh, the country has shown little to no growth in agricultural productivity. Moreover, recent policy changes, beginning in the 1980s, resulted in marked shifts in cereal consumption patterns. Rice, which has been the staple food for the past century, but is mainly imported, has been surpassed by locally grown millet as the most heavily consumed cereal in the country as a whole. However, this change is unlikely to lead to future food security as long as the failure to implement long-term agricultural development strategies by the current APRC regime continues.
A coup d'etat in The Gambia abruptly ended the reign of the longest serving democratic government and head of state in Africa. This ministate of one million was renowned internationally for its tranquility at a time when the rest of the continent was mired in political instability. The coup resulted from perceived civilian government weakness, widespread feelings of relative deprivation among junior Gambian officers, and their resentment against senior Nigerian officers who controlled the army. Also, turbulence in the West Africa subregion and poor relations between the deposed Gambia and Senegal governments emboldened the junior officers to intervene. While the new regime enjoys considerable popular support, domestic and international pressures increase for a return to civilian rule. With elections promised in July 1996, some external aid has been restored, which could avert domestic financial collapse and repression.
Abstract:On Friday, September 22, 2006, Gambians voted in the third presidential election since soldier-turned-civilian-president Yahya Jammeh came to power in a bloodless 1994 coup d'état. President Jammeh's ruling party defeated two separate, though ideologically and programmatically similar, political/party alliances. Notwithstanding, the 2006 presidential election has not appreciably moved The Gambia any closer to a more democratic political culture. The election resulted instead in the consolidation of authoritarian rule under Jammeh. Clearly, disunity within the opposition eroded both its popularity and credibility and irreversibly changed the dynamics of the election in Jammeh's favor. Jammeh is in a position to use his “mandate” and “victory” to widen political participation, undertake genuine reconciliation, root out corruption, investigate mounting deaths, protect press freedoms, and put the economy on a course to mend itself. But this seems unlikely, given his proclivity for press repression and a lack of commitment to bettering the lives of ordinary Gambians.
This article assesses “democratization” under military and quasimilitary regimes in the Gambia following the 1994 coup d'état until 2006. The “transition” program back to “civilian” rule in 1996, the 2001 and 2006 presidential elections, and the aftermath of deepening authoritarianism and economic crisis are also evaluated. The formation of a five—political party coalition, the National Alliance for Democracy and Development, in 2005 raised expectations for a new political dispensation. Its breakup in 2006, however, dashed hope of this occurring. President Jammeh won a third 5-year term amid suffocating external and domestic indebtedness, declining exports, poor economic performance, and endemic corruption. Continued poor leadership and policy choices are likely to exacerbate abject poverty, countercoups, instability, and conflict. McGowan's neo-Marxist/liberal political economy approach has helped rekindle more critical scholarship on the linkage between underdevelopment and conflict in Africa and the Third World as well as provide an antidote to neo-liberal economic policies.
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