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.
—Lauren M. MacLean, Indiana University, author of Informal Institutions and Citizenship in Rural Africa: Risk and Reciprocity in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

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.
—Susanna D. Wing, Haverford College, author of Constructing Democracy in Africa: Constitutionalism and Deliberation in Mali

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.
—Leonardo R. Arriola, University of California, Berkeley, author of Multiethnic Coalitions in Africa: Business Financing of Opposition Campaigns