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Mauritania
Index
Attitudies toward the political system in Mauritania were
like those found in other developing African countries undergoing
a similar nation-building process. Mauritanian society had both a
modern sector and a rural, traditional sector. Each nurtured
vastly different expectations of the political system, a split
that gave rise to two political subcultures. Although these two
subcultures were often depicted as polar opposites, membership
was not exclusive; in fact, most Mauritanians participated to
varying degrees in each. Perhaps what most distinguished modern
elites from those labeled traditional was the former's greater
reliance on modern technology and its commitment to economic
development.
The less educated, subsistence society offered little support
to the modern, urban political system. Its members participated
only insofar as government welfare programs, taxes, or laws
impinged on their lives. To many Mauritanians, national
government signified only President Taya and did not imply any
further loyalty to government, state, or nation. For this sector,
citizenship meant respect for tradition, maintenance of social
status, and rigid rules of behavior
(see Changing Social Patterns
, ch. 2). Accordingly, traditional injunctions against
rising above one's inherited class stifled economic activity
among black groups as well as among Maures. Maures of high status
often viewed economic activity, such as earning a salary, with
disdain. By the same traditions, women were accorded only a minor
role in politics.
Although traditional elites dominated local politics in rural
areas, a modernizing elite, which constituted approximately 10
percent of the population, greatly influenced national and urban
politics. That elite comprised senior military officers,
government workers, wealthy businessmen, union members
(especially teachers), and students. Insofar as economic
development was dependent on national unity and a less rigid
social structure, the members of the modernizing elite were also
committed to the progressive transformation, with its concomitant
dislocations, of traditional society through the agency of the
state. Among the modern elite, political consciousness remained
high, even if military rule limited opportunities for
participation.
The political goals of the modernizing elite were initially
articulated by Daddah and were retained in 1987 under the Taya
administration. These goals included cultural independence,
economic development, and democracy. The conditions for cultural
independence, according to Daddah, included bilingualism, a
revitalization of Islam through a return to its original
precepts, and a more prominent role for women. Cultural
independence was not to be construed as a return to precolonial
social mores, but rather as an adaptation of Mauritania's unique
cultural heritage. Economic independence, according to Daddah,
meant "mauritanization" of the labor force, restrictions on the
repatriation of funds by foreign-owned firms, and diversification
of Mauritania's sources of external aid, most of which came from
France. Democracy, the third of Daddah's goals, meant popular
participation, especially by women and youth, in the management
of public policy.
The military rulers who succeeded Daddah have implicitly
adopted his perspective. Since the 1978 coup, Mauritania has
imposed bilingualism, incorporated the Islamic legal code,
elevated women within the government, made the study of Arabic an
educational requirement, borrowed from an ever-increasing list of
donors, limited foreign participation in industry while replacing
foreigners with Mauritanians, and held elections to promote
participation in local politics.
Thus, in Mauritania in the mid-1980s traditional outlooks
based on custom, family ties, and Islam were gradually giving way
to a more modern set of political views based on codified laws
and procedures, achievement, and a national consciousness. More
and more, individuals tended to rely on the modern political
institutions of society (government, interest groups, police, and
the like) to satisfy their needs, rather than on traditional
political and religious leaders. This process has been hastened
by a protracted drought during the 1970s and 1980s. Over a period
of approximately fifteen years, 60 percent of Mauritania's
previously nomadic people, who constituted 80 percent of the
total population, resettled in urban areas, with many becoming
dependent on government aid programs. The resettlement in towns
has markedly altered traditional economic patterns and political
alliances.
Data as of June 1988
Attitudes Toward the Political System
Attitudies toward the political system in Mauritania were
like those found in other developing African countries undergoing
a similar nation-building process. Mauritanian society had both a
modern sector and a rural, traditional sector. Each nurtured
vastly different expectations of the political system, a split
that gave rise to two political subcultures. Although these two
subcultures were often depicted as polar opposites, membership
was not exclusive; in fact, most Mauritanians participated to
varying degrees in each. Perhaps what most distinguished modern
elites from those labeled traditional was the former's greater
reliance on modern technology and its commitment to economic
development.
The less educated, subsistence society offered little support
to the modern, urban political system. Its members participated
only insofar as government welfare programs, taxes, or laws
impinged on their lives. To many Mauritanians, national
government signified only President Taya and did not imply any
further loyalty to government, state, or nation. For this sector,
citizenship meant respect for tradition, maintenance of social
status, and rigid rules of behavior
(see Changing Social Patterns
, ch. 2). Accordingly, traditional injunctions against
rising above one's inherited class stifled economic activity
among black groups as well as among Maures. Maures of high status
often viewed economic activity, such as earning a salary, with
disdain. By the same traditions, women were accorded only a minor
role in politics.
Although traditional elites dominated local politics in rural
areas, a modernizing elite, which constituted approximately 10
percent of the population, greatly influenced national and urban
politics. That elite comprised senior military officers,
government workers, wealthy businessmen, union members
(especially teachers), and students. Insofar as economic
development was dependent on national unity and a less rigid
social structure, the members of the modernizing elite were also
committed to the progressive transformation, with its concomitant
dislocations, of traditional society through the agency of the
state. Among the modern elite, political consciousness remained
high, even if military rule limited opportunities for
participation.
The political goals of the modernizing elite were initially
articulated by Daddah and were retained in 1987 under the Taya
administration. These goals included cultural independence,
economic development, and democracy. The conditions for cultural
independence, according to Daddah, included bilingualism, a
revitalization of Islam through a return to its original
precepts, and a more prominent role for women. Cultural
independence was not to be construed as a return to precolonial
social mores, but rather as an adaptation of Mauritania's unique
cultural heritage. Economic independence, according to Daddah,
meant "mauritanization" of the labor force, restrictions on the
repatriation of funds by foreign-owned firms, and diversification
of Mauritania's sources of external aid, most of which came from
France. Democracy, the third of Daddah's goals, meant popular
participation, especially by women and youth, in the management
of public policy.
The military rulers who succeeded Daddah have implicitly
adopted his perspective. Since the 1978 coup, Mauritania has
imposed bilingualism, incorporated the Islamic legal code,
elevated women within the government, made the study of Arabic an
educational requirement, borrowed from an ever-increasing list of
donors, limited foreign participation in industry while replacing
foreigners with Mauritanians, and held elections to promote
participation in local politics.
Thus, in Mauritania in the mid-1980s traditional outlooks
based on custom, family ties, and Islam were gradually giving way
to a more modern set of political views based on codified laws
and procedures, achievement, and a national consciousness. More
and more, individuals tended to rely on the modern political
institutions of society (government, interest groups, police, and
the like) to satisfy their needs, rather than on traditional
political and religious leaders. This process has been hastened
by a protracted drought during the 1970s and 1980s. Over a period
of approximately fifteen years, 60 percent of Mauritania's
previously nomadic people, who constituted 80 percent of the
total population, resettled in urban areas, with many becoming
dependent on government aid programs. The resettlement in towns
has markedly altered traditional economic patterns and political
alliances.
Data as of June 1988
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