Africa's First Democrats

Abdi Ismail Samatar is Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography, Environment, and Society at the University of Minnesota and a research fellow at the University of Pretoria. He is an elected member of the African Academy of Sciences, a former president of the African Studies Association, and a trustee of Mogadishu University. He is the author of four books, including An African Miracle, and more than seventy articles and essays on African development and politics, including "The Dialectics of Piracy in Somalia: The Rich versus the Poor."

Africa's First Democrats challenges several stereotypes about the workings and growth of democracy on the African continent. More than that, Africa's First Democrats opens up space for a broader rereading of African history and holds the possibility for a more extensive anti-racist and anti-colonial project that has long animated pan-African politics across the globe.- Joshua Inwood, Pennsylvania State University (Politcal Geography) Abdi Samatar's book Africa's First Democrats is of significance to geographical studies of Africa for three main reasons: (i) its decolonial approach; (ii) its dissection of democratic political leadership and political parties; (iii) its documentation of a historical period in Somalia, when political leaders advocated a vision of a united Somalia that transcended contemporary representation of the country as a 'failed state' wracked by atavistic tribalism.- Patricia Daley, Oxford University (Political Geography) This study is important because it draws attention to the gamut of stereotypes and wisdoms espoused by critics of African leaders. . . . We all must salute Samatar for his courage to exonerate a couple of African leaders from the court of academic vilification.(American Historical Review) Going beyond postcolonial analysis, decolonization encourages re-thinking the world from Africa, from Latin America, from indigenous places, and from marginalized academia. Samatar's book does precisely this, rethinking our concepts of statehood, democracy and leadership from Africa, and from Somalia particularly.- Sarah Radcliffe, Cambridge University (Political Geography) Excellent.13 2014(African and Asian Studies)

• Preface & Acknowledgments             List of Selected Dates                                                            1. Leadership in Africa                                                                                                  2. Aden: From an Orphan to a Nationalist Leader                                              3. Abdirazak: From Camel Boy to Freedom Fighter                                        4. The Somali Youth League and the Nationalist Project: 1943–1960                                  5. The First Republic: Institutional Foundations of Democracy 1960–1964                                                                                     6. The Second Republic: Democratic Trailblazing                                                                                          7. The March toward Dictatorship: 1967–1974                                                                      8. Conclusion                                                  Bibliography               Notes                                                                                       Index