Contrary to the widespread perception that Mauritania has moved toward democracy, this troubled country faces continued ethnic tensions and the prospect of increasing repression.
About the Author
Boubacar N’Diaye, a former high-level civil servant in Mauritania, currently teaches black studies and political science at the College of Wooster in Ohio. His most recent scholarly works deal with civil-military relations in Africa, democratization prospects, human rights, and pan-Africanism. He is author of The Challenge of Institutionalizing Civilian Control (2001).
Though the proportion of women in political office remains lower in Africa than in most other regions, African women exhibited new political energy and made unprecedented progress during the past…