Autocracy, migration, and the Gambia's ‘unprecedented’ 2016 election

Hultin, Niklas; Jallow, Baba G.; Lawrance, Benjamin N.; Sarr, Assan

doi:10.1093/afraf/adx007

Cited by 16 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…excision, clitoridectomy with partial or total exclusion of the labia minora) most prevalent in the country [24]. Yet, despite such efforts, and the laws against practices such as early marriages and FGC/M, these practices continue to take place [21].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The former authoritarian President Yahya Jammeh (in power between 1994–2017) was internationally criticised for his provision of herbal treatments to ‘cure’ infertility, HIV/AIDS and asthma [20–22]. His leadership was characterised by brutal treatment of his opponents, including targeted assassinations and forced exiles [21]. However, since early 2017, when a democratically elected government came into place following the 2016 elections and a brief transition period, there has been a re-opening of the broader health system to these issues, including an increased focus on infertility [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The fertile grounds of reproductive activism in The Gambia: A qualitative study of local key stakeholders’ understandings and heterogeneous actions related to infertility

et al. 2019

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IntroductionWhile several studies have focussed on the experiences of women living with infertility, there is a paucity of information related to understandings, representations and actions of key stakeholders (i.e. organisations and individual actors involved in activities or professional care surrounding infertility) when it comes to infertility in Sub-Saharan Africa. This ethnographic study conducted in The Gambia, West Africa, focuses on how key stakeholders in the country understand infertility, and on their activities to improve the lives of people with infertility.MethodologyThis ethnographic study draws on primary and secondary data for thematic analysis. Primary qualitative data were collected using in-depth interviews, observations, informal conversations and group discussion with various stakeholders (i.e. health care providers and representatives of non-governmental, governmental and international organisations). Sources of secondary data included government and non-governmental reports and media outputs.ResultsResults illustrated that most key stakeholders had a good understanding of the cultural frameworks and social realities of women living with infertility, with less focus on, or awareness of, men’s experiences of infertility. We distinguished three different positions of these actors and organisations, first, the infertility supporters, i.e. those who despite political challenges and a lack of funding, initiated activities to raise awareness about the problems people with infertility are facing and aim to increase access to infertility services. The second are moderate supporters, i.e. those who recognise the problems infertility poses and whose organisations target some of the perceived causes of infertility (i.e. lack of health education and harmful cultural practices). A third group of neutral or moderate opponents consist mainly of formal health care providers who do not consider infertility a current priority, given many competing demands in the resource-constrained healthcare system.ConclusionWhile international donors still largely neglect the emotional and social implications of infertility in Sub-Saharan African countries, some local stakeholders are working to bring services closer to people with infertility. The efforts of these local stakeholders require support and integration, and should include engaging with different groups for widespread sensitisation to reduce stigma and promote attendance to health centres for reproductive health challenges.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fertile grounds of reproductive activism in The Gambia: A qualitative study of local key stakeholders’ understandings and heterogeneous actions related to infertility

et al. 2019

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“…They were unexpectedly won by opposition candidate Adama Barrow. President Yahya Jammeh, who had ruled the country since 1996, initially accepted his defeat, but shortly afterwards refused to give up power, citing serious irregularities in the electoral process (Hultin et al 2017). In line with their provisions against unconstitutional changes of government, ECOWAS and AU rejected Jammeh's attempt to stay in power and promised to use 'all necessary means' to ensure that the electoral result was enforced.…”

Section: The Gambia: Contesting Regional Intervention In Times Of Posmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking Intervention Politics Seriously: Media Debates and the Contestation of African Regional Interventions ‘from Below’

Witt

Schnabel

2020

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding

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Scholars increasingly investigate how the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) is contested and negotiated in practice. Yet little knowledge exists on the politics African regional interventions provoke in the societies affected by such interventions. Based on an analysis of media reports from Burkina Faso and The Gambia, we show that regional interventions are indeed contested locally, irrespective of the means of intervention applied. Our analysis demonstrates how local elites use regional norms and policies in order to claim power and define what is going (wr)on(g). With this, we provide evidence for the (contested) local effects of APSA and for the relevance of media for researching such effects.

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“…In light of the enduring presence of ethnic identification in everyday life, the relative lack of attention to ethnicity in the scholarship on recent Gambian politics, which in and of itself is quite small, is notable. In scholarly discussions of the 2016 election and its aftermath, Kora & Darboe (2017) and Hultin et al (2017) discuss ethnicity in passing as an ultimately futile ploy by Jammeh (see below). Perfect (2017: 327) addresses ethnicity in relation to the 2016 election but concludes that it is difficult to assess this relation beyond noting that Jammeh continued to enjoy strong Jola support.…”

Section: Ethnicity In Colonial and National Politics Until 1994mentioning

confidence: 99%

Anticipatory tribalism: accusatory politics in the ‘New Gambia’

Hultin

Sommerfelt

2020

J. Mod. Afr. Stud.

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This article examines the upsurge in denunciations of ‘tribalism’ in public debate during The Gambia's transition from the autocracy of Yahya Jammeh to the ‘New Gambia’ under President Adama Barrow. In these public debates, derogatory statements about particular ethnicities articulate fears of present or future alliances to monopolise political power. These fears are disproportionate to attempts of organised political mobilisation on ethnic grounds, which remain marginal. It is argued that accusatory politics are a salient, and neglected, feature of ethnic dynamics in contemporary Gambian – and African – politics. This politics of accusation involves the contestation and negotiation of moral legitimacy in the political sphere, in a manner challenging the separation of the moral and the political undergirding scholarly distinctions between ethnicity and tribalism.

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Autocracy, migration, and the Gambia's ‘unprecedented’ 2016 election

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

The fertile grounds of reproductive activism in The Gambia: A qualitative study of local key stakeholders’ understandings and heterogeneous actions related to infertility

The fertile grounds of reproductive activism in The Gambia: A qualitative study of local key stakeholders’ understandings and heterogeneous actions related to infertility

Taking Intervention Politics Seriously: Media Debates and the Contestation of African Regional Interventions ‘from Below’

Anticipatory tribalism: accusatory politics in the ‘New Gambia’

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