Burkina Faso: A History of Power, Protest, and Revolution

In October 2014, huge protests across Burkina Faso succeeded in overthrowing the long-entrenched regime of their authoritarian ruler, Blaise Compaoré. Defying all expectations, this popular movement went on to defeat an attempted coup by the old regime, making it possible for a transitional government to organize free and fair elections the following year. In doing so, the people of this previously obscure West African nation surprised the world, and their struggle stands as one of the few instances of a popular democratic uprising succeeding in postcolonial sub-Saharan Africa.

For over three decades, Ernest Harsch has researched and reported from Burkina Faso, interviewing subjects ranging from local democratic activists to revolutionary icon Thomas Sankara, the man once dubbed 'Africa's Che Guevara.' In this book, Harsch provides a compelling history of this little understood country, from the French colonial period to the Compaoré regime and the movement that finally deposed him.

Author: Ernest Harsch
Publisher: Zed Books
Published: 10/15/2017
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781786991355

About the Author

Ernest Harsch is an academic and freelance journalist who has written extensively on Africa since the 1970s. He is a research scholar affiliated with Columbia University's Institute of African Studies and previously served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the university's School of International and Public Affairs. He is a regular contributor on Burkina Faso to the Economist Intelligence Unit, and his writing has featured in publications ranging from Le Monde diplomatique to Africa Today. His previous books include Thomas Sankara: An African Revolutionary (2014).
Ernest Harsch is an academic and freelance journalist who has written extensively on Africa since the 1970s. He is a research scholar affiliated with Columbia University's Institute of African Studies and previously served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the university's School of International and Public Affairs. He is a regular contributor on Burkina Faso to the Economist Intelligence Unit, and his writing has featured in publications ranging from Le Monde diplomatique to Africa Today. His previous books include Thomas Sankara: An African Revolutionary (2014).

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