Education and Empowered Citizenship in Mali

"Through a nuanced analysis of Mali in comparative context, Bleck persuasively argues that schools can teach students the tools of political participation and allow parents to connect with the state."

"Anyone seeking a book that authoritatively examines and discusses education and contemporary African politics will be greatly satisfied with Jaimie Bleck's Education and Empowered Citizenship in Mali... The author's professional and personal experiences, the breadth and depth of the methodology, the analysis of the data, and the sound scholarship and theories brought to bear or referenced in the book make it a balanced and tremendous contribution to the fields of African political science and education. The research for the book successfully and refreshingly showcases the reasons why education should matter for democratic citizenship and why it is likely that different schools have different effects on the political knowledge and political participation of citizens."

"A theoretically important, methodologically rigorous, and original contribution to our understanding of education and democracy in Africa. Bleck's insights are grounded in a deep knowledge of and engagement with politics in Mali, but are also keenly relevant for many other parts of Africa and the developing world."

"Using original data from Mali, Bleck documents how state education can create empowered citizens and that broadening political participation is intimately tied to the state’s ability to provide public education. This book will be essential reading for students of democracy, education and development in Africa and beyond."

"Jaimie Bleck presents a thought-provoking study of the political implications of expanded education in Africa's democratizing countries. Drawing on an impressive combination of field research and survey data, Bleck shows that increased schooling not only helps to produce citizens with greater political knowledge, but also induces citizens to engage more actively with their state. These important findings are likely to inform the next generation of research on political behavior not only in African countries where the future of democracy remains in doubt, but also in Muslim-majority countries where public institutions must increasingly compete with Islamic and private alternatives in service provision."