This book is focused on the street-naming politics, policies and practices that have been shaping and reshaping the semantic, textual and visual environments of urban Africa and Israel. Its chapters expand on prominent issues, such as the importance of extra-formal processes, naming reception and unofficial toponymies, naming decolonisation, place attachment, place-making and the materiality of street signage. By this, the book directly contributes to the mainstreaming of Africa's toponymic cultures in recent critical place-names studies. Unconventionally and experimentally, comparative glimpses are made throughout between toponymic experiences of African and Israeli cities, exploring pioneering issues in the overwhelmingly Eurocentric research tradition. The latter tends to be concentrated on Europe and North America, to focus on nationalistic ideologies and regime change and to over-rely on top-down 'mere' mapping and street indexing. This volume is also unique in incorporating a rich and stimulating variety of visual evidence from a wide range of African and Israeli cities. The materiality of street signage signifies the profound and powerful connections between structured politics, current mundane practices, historical traditions and subaltern cultures. Street-Naming Cultures in Africa and Israel is an important contribution to urban studies, toponymic research and African studies for scholars and students. Chapters 1 and 2 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003173762

The doctrine of international relations (inter-state, indeed), territorial ideologies, the logic of autochthony and its ramifications, ethnic cleansing, are all hinged at different levels upon the same pseudo-fact: to every society a closed and exclusive territory demarcated by fixed and linear borders. This way of thinking, totally foreign to African societies for a long time, has generated today more contradictions than it can ever solve. The authors of this book make a clear distinction between territory formation "from the top" as being a deliberate political project, and its formation "from below" as being a more diffused historical process which is determined by the scheme of antagonisms and compromises between social forces. In lieu of a stark opposition between "the top" and "below," the authors unveil the interdependence and mutual influence which form the basis of a dual system within which legal formation -by the colonial authorities first, then by the postcolonial one- is confronted with a host of subaltern spatial dynamics, neglecting thereby the legitimacy which only them can provide. As an essential read for anyone who is interested in the relationship between knowledge and power, this book offers stimulating perspectives on the issue of African unity and its epistemological and political challenges. It renews profoundly our approaches to human security, citizenship, borders and mobility.

In Francophone West Africa, the times between 1988 and 1996 can be compared - in terms of their significance for politics and democracy, and the magnitude of social forces mobilised - with the years of anti-colonial struggle between 1945 and 1960. Three decades of state-party monopolies of national, economic and social development gave way to popular movements and widespread re-participation in the running of public affairs. Coalitions of social movements were formed, federalised; and then dispersed. Their dispersal however did not render the democratic stakes any less urgent. This book identifies that the present difficulty is to move beyond notions of democracy conceived to suit any circumstances of discourse, to a more concrete definition, and a mobilising democratic process. It further argues that what is at stake for democracy stretches well beyond the parameters styled by governments; and encompasses for example conditions of reproduction of West African societies. The author presents a two-pronged analysis: first of the democratic discourse eg definitions, concepts, frameworks of analysis, academic and popular discourse; and second of democratic spaces, vehicles and institutions. The book urges throughout that the narrative of West African political history of the last decade be instated within the context of the long period of emancipation struggles. (In French)