Historical Dictionary Of Togo

Togo’s history from precolonial times to the present is one of a struggle for identity and leadership. A territory relatively untouched by neighboring pre-colonial empires was colonized by both the Germans and the French, and even before independence Togo was shaped by the struggle for political control by prominent families. Since the 1990s, widespread political movements have striven to unseat the ruling Gnassingbé family, in power for more than 50 years, only to be repressed by the military or thwarted at the ballot box. Economically more prosperous compared to many of the other countries in the West African region, Togo has diversified its economy from an early dependence on phosphates, and has navigated trade and foreign relations remarkably well for a country of only 7 million people, with a territory less than a quarter the size of neighboring Ghana. With at least 30 ethnic groups and wide array of languages, religions and cultural traditions, Togo is representative of the rich diversity of contemporary Africa, and a vibrant illustration of the dual quest for development and democracy that characterizes the West African region. The fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Togo contains a chronology, an introduction, an extensive bibliography, and a dictionary section has over 1,000 cross-referenced dictionary entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Togo.

Having achieved its independence from France in 1960, Chad has run into a serious crises of national building, which have continued to haunt it to the present day, making it one of the poorest and most politically unstable countries on the globe. Chad is a country with sharp geographic and climatic contrasts that puzzle and fascinate the visitor, displaying first a monotonous but majestic portion of the Saharan Desert in the north, punctuated by plains and high altitudes displayed by the Tibesti mountains, where the highest point, Emi Koussi, reaches 11,204 ft.; the middle Central Sahelian zone, where pastoral transhumance lifestyle predominates but where and nut cultivation and harvesting is possible; and an endowed southern tropical zone where the forest and the savanna meet, blessed by several long-running rivers, most notably, the Logone and the Chari that empty their waters into centuries-old Lake Chad. Even though things in Chad seem to have improved during the past 10 years, most observers agree that the path to peace, reconstruction, and economic progress is still long and arduous. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Chad contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Chad.

The fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of Niger covers the history of the peoples of the Republic of Niger from medieval times to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries covering elements of pre-colonial and colonial history, recent politics, cinema, literature, religion, economics, and finance. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Niger.

Benin is now perceived of as a model of democracy in Africa because it has successfully established a democratic political system based on consensus and regular and fair elections, and it continues to improve its electoral and parliamentary systems. Since its democracy it has taken important steps towards laying the foundation for the rule of law by establishing stable political institutions that can withstand the test of time. It has also engaged in an important legal, institutional, and regulatory reform to establish a more favorable environment for private initiative. The fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Benin covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 900 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Benin.

Traces the dominant historical, social, economic, and political features of Benin, and outlines the biographies of some of the most important personalities who have played a role in the Beninois public scene.

Niger is a crossroad, the gate to the outside for West Africans, and the port of entry into West Africa for cross-Saharan tidings and travelers. It remained for centuries the largely uncontrolled periphery of the large empires of the western Sudan and the market cities of the central Sudan. In these two ways, the land forged a very distinctive identity, a fluid blend of diverse communities which make up a nation of marginal cosmopolitans – a paradox illuminated in this book. This fifth edition of Historical Dictionary of Niger contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Niger.

Expanded and updated by one of the foremost experts on Francophone Africa, the third edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Congo offers African scholars an easy-to-use reference source on this country.