| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
To understand both the persistence and the very low intensity of the ongoing Casamançais separatist conflict in southern Senegal, one has to take into account the longer history of the encounter between the Senegalese state and the community that the separatists claim to represent. This is not the history of an estrangement, but quite to the contrary, a history of a strong connection, one where 'pilgrimages' of education and state employment have played a key role. It is the intensity of the connection that explains both the vivacity of the sentiment that feeds separatism and the reluctance of many Casamançais to break these links entirely. The state's success in maintaining and even revamping this connection, and the fact that many Casamançais enjoy a working relationship with Senegal and its capital city, Dakar, have been key factors. This case confirms that the materiality of experiences of nationhood matters. It also confirms the importance of education in the formation (and contestation) of nationhood.
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