Synopses & Reviews
Written by the leading political expert on Suriname, this thrilling tale describes ethnically inspired guerilla warfare, terrible human rights violations, military coups, painful redemocratization processes, and economic implosion. Although part of the American family of nations in the Western Hemisphere, there is almost nothing written about Suriname as a modern country. There are some ethnographies, some histories of ex-slave rebellions, and passing references to the atrocities of colonial plantation systems. After that, the dark clouds of obscurity close over a fascinating if beleaguered close American cousin, one whose history as an independent nation has much to say to the strife-ridden trouble spots of the 1990s--Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Liberia, and Nicaragua.
Review
...an interesting and thought-provoking book on the recent political history of Suriname. This is a worth-while addition to libraries with a Caribbean or Latin American focus. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty.Choice
Synopsis
An exciting tale of ethnic polarization, surprise coups, Marxist revolution, guerilla warfare, economic implosion, and painful proto-democracy in a former Dutch colony on the north coast of South America.
About the Author
EDWARD M. DEW is Professor of Politics at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
Table of Contents
Preface
The Difficult Flowering of Suriname
Oude Rotten, Foetoebois, and Ruziemakers
The Coup: "Leuk, toch?"
Confronting de Jongens
Zig-Gezag
The Jungle Commando
Redemocratization--After a Fashion
Democracy Bent, but not Broken
Civilian Authority Resurgent
Conclusion
Bibliography
Glossary
Index