Creole Language Democracy And The Illegible State In Cabo Verde

This book argues that the state in Cabo Verde is illegible since its operations, procedures, and processes are carried out through Portuguese, a language that most of the people do not understand. Consequently, the illegible state produces grave political consequences in overall political participation and the quality of democracy.

In the last thirty years, there has been a shift in the Cabo Verdean community in the ways it perceives itself ethnically and racially, in the creation of opportunities for socio-economic mobility, and in the pursuit of new migratory patterns within the United States to take advantage of these opportunities. Existing scholarship on the historical and contemporary experiences of Cabo Verdeans in the US has been hyper-focused on racial and ethnic identities, neglecting the space for Cabo Verdeans to share their stories, which makes this collection unique. Cabo Verdeans in the United States: Twenty-First Century Critical Perspectives edited by Terza A. Silva Lima-Neves centers Cabo Verdean stories as told by Cabo Verdeans to explore community building and challenges in the twenty-first century. The contributors examine questions of solidarity, loss of innocence, and what it means to live authentically and exist intentionally in safe spaces. They offer critical reflections on traditional cultural gender norms, and they discuss the intersections of cultural stigmas, mental and physical health, and access to care. Using interviews and personal experiences, the contributors challenge existing Cabo Verdean scholars to see the value in documenting their experiences and contributions in the United States.

Cape Verde Political Environment and Governance. Creole Language insight and Symbolism. Understand the Creole inside out, and its environment. Faced with a lack of natural resources Cape Verde has made good governance one of its most marketable products. Running parallel to the institutionalization of democratic politics there has been an overhaul and growing sophistication in public administration, though certain weaknesses persist. This report argues that it is reform and improvement in this area in particular that has enabled this small island state to punch above its weight and achieve remarkable social, economic and political results. But will the successful formula of the past decade prove sufficient for the future? Poverty and unemployment have by no means been conquered. Much of the economic growth has been based in the tourist sector and the government is well aware of the dangers of overreliance on a single industry

The Dialogic Nation of Cape Verde: Slavery, Language, and Ideology is an ethnographic study of language use and ideology in Cape Verde, from its early settlement as a center for slave trade, to the postcolonial present. The study is methodologically rich and innovative in that it weaves together historical, linguistic, and ethnographic data from different eras with sketches of contemporary life—a homicide trial, a scholarly meeting, a competition for a new national flag, a heterodox Catholic mass, an analysis of love letters, a priest’s sermon, and a death in the neighborhood. In all these different contexts, Márcia Rego focuses on the role of Kriolu (the Cape Verdean Creole) and its relation to Portuguese—that is, on the way people live through speaking. The Dialogic Nation of Cape Verde shows how, through the dialogic give-and-take of the two languages, Cape Verdeans wrestle with deep-seated colonial hierarchies, invent and rehearse new traditions, and articulate their identity as a sovereign, creole nation.

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

In Economic Growth and Democracy in Post-Colonial Africa: Cabo Verde, Small States, and the World Economy, edited by João Resende-Santos and Aminah Fernandes Pilgrim, the contributors provide a comprehensive academic analysis of the political economy of Cabo Verde (Cabo Verde) from its independence in 1975 to the present. Democracy and economic growth have been in short supply in post-colonial Africa. Yet the widespread misperception of this vast and diverse continent as experiencing only failure has overshadowed cases of good governance, human development, and social peace. This volume offers a comprehensive analytical narrative on how Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) forged a nation and navigated the world system since independence to achieve some progress. The volume critically examines its political and institutional evolution, foreign affairs, economy, and development policy. The chapters analyze the sources and nature of this relative success as well as underscore the many shortcomings and challenges ahead. As the first volume in English on Cabo Verde’s political economy, it serves as both a primary source and sociopolitical study, featuring some of the most accomplished scholars and policy practitioners. This collection aims to fill this gap in the literature and offers a new perspective on democracy and growth in post-colonial Africa.

The challenge facing African leaders is whether to completely adopt democratic institutions as its form of governance. The book examines Africa’s experience with this form of democratic governance since independence and its impact on economic performance.

Long on the periphery of both academic research and international attention, the countries of the West African Sahel currently find themselves at the center of global concerns over security, terrorism, migration, and conflict. Since the early 1990s the Sahelian states have also been engaged in political struggles over the construction of democratic institutions. Edited by Leonardo A. Villalón and Abdourahmane Idrissa, Democratic Struggle, Institutional Reform, and State Resilience in the African Sahel addresses a key and little-studied question: How have the politics of democratization across the Francophone Sahel shaped processes of state-building, and with what effects on the resilience of state institutions? Starting from the premise that variation in the politics of institution building and institutional reform—although most frequently justified and debated in terms of democratization—have differing impact on the construction of resilient states , this book examines these processes in six francophone states of the Sahel: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad. The contributors represent a set of distinguished scholars from across the region, many of whom have also been important actors in the struggles they analyze.