August 5, 1960 marked the day that Burkina Faso, then French Upper Volta, gained full independence from its former governing power, France. The first president of this newly independent state was Maurice Yameogo, who was the leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (Political Handbook of the World 2012). Under his supervision, a constitution was drafted, which stated that presidential elections were to be conducted by means of universal suffrage. Although the constitution laid the framework for a fair and balanced democratic government, Yameogo banned all other political parties other than his own, which was not well perceived by the public. He was also unable to resolve conflicts dealing with “student and labor dissatisfaction”, which ultimately led to the downfall of his presidency (Political Handbook of the World 2012). His regime lasted only a mere six years before large public strikes and demonstrations …show more content…
The military intervened and dismantled his regime, which led to Lt. Col. Sangoule Lamizana becoming the temporary head of state. Lamizana remained in power for the remainder of the 1960’s and all of the 1970’s. He was eventually succeeded by Col. Saye Zerbo on November 25 1980 in what is called the “Bloodless Coup” (Political Handbook of the World 2012). Lamizana and other top government officials were arrested, and the previous constitution was dismantled and all political activity was halted. After only two short years, another coup attempt took place that placed Maj. Jean_Baptiste Ouedraogo as the head of the People’s Salvation Council. This coup attempt also failed very shortly after on August 4, 1983. Thomas Sankara asserted the formation of the National Revolutionary Council, which led to the renaming of the country to what is now known as Burkina Faso, meaning “democratic and republican land of upright men” (Political Handbook of
In 1962 France met with the FLN and they all agreed that Algeria should decide their own rights. Although, Algeria’s formal independence day is recognized as 5 July 1962. When the French left Algeria did not have a leader, so they appointed Ahmed Ben Bella who became the republic's first president in 1963. Algerian government then took over businesses, farms, and banks. Ahmed Ben Bella then personally controlled the army and the government. Bella was overthrown shortly after he aligned Algeria with the soviet union. They replaced him with Houard Bournediene who focused on reforming Algeria by hiring skilled workers and restarting the economy (golbalEDGE), (The World
In 1991, a detrimental civil war began in the small country of Sierra Leone, with the RUF taking charge, trying to overthrow Joseph Momoh, the current (2nd) president, and the republic in which he operated. His people viewed him as manipulatable and weak, being controlled by his notoriously corrupt advisors. The RUF continued on strike, warring against the police and other governmental forces. In 1992 they managed to overthrow him. For six years, the war continued, as the RUF wanted their democracy to be put into motion. In 1997, a new president was designated, and the war declared over. This did not satisfy the RUF, and an uproar began, dragging the war on for another four years.
Sojourner Truth and Women Suffrage “Who is the Sojourner Truth?” Isabella Baumfree, also considered Van Wagenen, was born in 1797 and died in 1883. She was the first black to speak out to people about slavery and abolitionists. She was said to have a deep manly voice but had a quick wit and inspiring faith (Encyclopaedia, 474). It was Truth’s religious faith that transformed her from Isabella to Sojourner Truth.
A revolution is defined as: “the violent and abrupt overthrow of a sociopolitical regime that leads to change in the fundamental political and social institutions of a society.” At first glance, the Haitian Revolution appears to meet that criteria. The revolt lasted for 13 brutal years, from 1791 – 1804, and resulted in 62,000 dead Frenchmen and over 100,000 dead Haitians. In the end, the Haitians reigned victorious and gained their independence. The shear length, number of casualties, and overthrow of the French colonial government certainly satisfy the first. requirement. Meeting the second requirement, fundamental change in the political institution, was also attained. After Haiti attained independence, the Haitians gained control of their
For several months, France was at peace. The insurrection began on 1 November 1954. The insurrection precipitated the fall of the Fourth Republic. Charles de Gaulle, hero of the Second World War, became President of France in 1958, and was intent on securing a political solution to the insurrection, rather than one based on force. His efforts were largely successful in avoiding a civil war in France, and ending the insurgency - although it took four years to do so. It has been estimated that more than a million Algerians died in the insurrection.2
In 2007, rebel groups including the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity, the Union of Republican Forces, and the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace formed an group called Seleka, meaning alliance (Warner). On March 15, 2013, Seleka captured Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic, and killed members of peacekeeping units (Tognini). Believing that President Francois Bozize had gone back on a peace deal, Seleka ousted him and he fled to Cameroon (Karimi). Wanting greater representation, the Muslim rebel group’s aim was to take over power in the Central African Republic ("Muslim-Christian Conflict Threatens Central African Republic"). After Bozize left, episodes of violence and looting increased (Karimi). In August of 2013, Seleka leader Michel Djotodia was made president (Smith “Unspeakable horrors...”). In September, Djotodia dissolved Seleka and denied that a religious conflict was occurring (Karimi). The anti-balaka had been formed by President Bozize to combat gangs and once the violent episodes began, the group was used as opposition for Seleka and the ...
During the beginning of the 20th century, the increase activity of the National Union Of Women attractive additional support of the suffrage movement. “However, it was possible to criticize the policy and tactics of the constitutional suffragist on several grounds. It was argued that the suffragists should have revolted in 1884, when the amendment to the reform bill of that year failed through the opposition of the liberal leadership, but the suffragists were too well mannered to do more protesting and concentrate all of their efforts on one private members bill.” The women suffrage’s organization could not force the political parties to adopt the cause of women’s suffrage and need a major party to pick up their campaign or there was no hope of a government bill. Women’s suffrages leaders saw that they need more of a drastic tactics to gain public awareness. Women started protesting by undergoing violence methods and tactics however, the National Union Of Women believed that any aggression or violence acts of protesting would only weaken the movement. These actions would persuade male’s voters that women are too emotional and thus could not be trusted with the responsible of voting. These gentle ways of protesting was unconvincing, as many political believed would give up or lose interests. The lack of actions cause many women to take strongest methods of protesting their rights and formed a more violent group called Suffragettes.
The Central African Republic is located in Central Africa. On its Borders are Chad to t, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest and Cameroon to the west. Central Africa was not always a republic, On December thirty-first, nineteen-sixty-five, Dacko was overthrown by Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa in the Saint-Sylvestre coup. Bokassa made himself up in rank to president for life in nineteen-seventy-two, and changed his title to Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire on the fourth of December, nineteen-sixty-seven. A year later, Emperor Bokassa crowned himself in an extremely costly ceremony that was made a laughing stock by much of the
It was Theodore Roosevelt, who stated that, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care”, conveying the idea that with no voice comes no change. In the morning of August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified, which centralized mainly on the enfranchisement of women. Today, they have the legal right to vote, and the ability to speak openly for themselves, but most of all they are now free and equal citizens. However this victorious triumph in American history would not have been achieved without the strong voices of determined women, risking their lives to show the world how much they truly cared. Women suffragists in the 19th century had a strong passion to change their lifestyle, their jobs around the nineteenth century were limited to just children, family, and domestic duties. It consisted of a very low rate of education, and job opportunities. They could not share their opinion publicly and were expected to support their male family members and husbands during the time. Women knew that the way to enfranchisement was going to be tenacious, and full of obstacles along the way. Therefore a new organization was formed, The National American Women Association (NAWSA), representing millions of women and Elizabeth Cady Stanton as the first party president. This organization was founded in 1890, which strategized on the women getting education in order to strengthen their knowledge to prepare for the suffrage fight. NAWSA mainly focused on the right to vote one state at a time. In 1917, a member named Alice Paul, split apart from NAWSA because of the organization’s tactics and major goals. Due to this split, many other suffragists from NAWSA bitterly divided into a new organization named, National Women’s ...
The current authoritarian regime could not produce that democratic power. The upper class originally wanted Charles-Henri Baker, one of the richest person in Haiti, to be president, however he was not even close to the threshold. The socialites chose the second best alternative, Martelly, and want to keep him(and them) in power forever. Haiti may never attain democracy, or it may suddenly become democratic just after one night. Haitian government needs to not go back to its Duvalierst back trail and increase government transparency, otherwise Haiti will never complete the transition from the poorest to the second
he and the other men “remember the ladies” In response, the Declaration is worded as “all
In 1958, four years into what would become known as the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), the vacillating French Fourth Republic called for General Charles De Gaulle to return to power, sharing the common faith that he will “fix” the Algerian status quo. Nonetheless De Gaulle’s Algerian politics advanced toward withdrawal, and by 1962, French society and the state were eager to move on. Nevertheless, France and President Coty brought back Gen. De Gaulle to power under the push of an Algerian insurrection in May 1958.
...ntable. Given the instability Lumumba faced internally, and the stakeholders that threatened him externally, I would have utilized diplomacy and treaded more lightly in his shoes. It did not seem like he tried at all to preempt the various threats that came his way. He neither consulted carefully with those around him, nor made a special effort to win their loyalty. He appeared to be more reactive than proactive in the way he addressed conflict. He undervalued his allies and underestimated his enemies. The newly liberated government was in many ways ill equipped for independence, at least at that point. The viability of the republic was perhaps more reliant on the his ability to positively engage with the international community. Lumumba’s failure to realize or acknowledge the need for interdependence with both internal and external players was his ultimate undoing.
...esult, 1000 civilians died, but majority of the fundamentalist group was taken out. In 2009, Goodluck Jonathan assumed presidency when Umaru Yar’Adu died (BBC News Africa, 2013). In 2011 elections, Goodluck Jonathan took majority of the vote against military opponent, Muhammadu Buhari. Observers have stated this election is the most fair it has ever been in history, but Buhari’s supporters opposed the results. Quickly after, the fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, made resurgence and there were daily attacks in the country. As a result, the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency and dispatched troops. In January 2012, Goodluck Jonathan removed the country’s fuel subsidy to repair the tattered economy, but only caused fuel and food prices to rise. In response to the rise of prices, Nigerians began to protest, which eventually led to reinstating the subsidy.