FOR GOD OR COUNTRY

About the Book

This study explores the relationship between economic development and political evolution during a decisive period of modern Sudanese history. During the first half of the 20th century, Mahdists competed with nationalists in shaping politics and forcing independence from the British in 1956. The nationalists sought independence for reasons of country. The Mahdists sought independence for reasons of God. But economic development was important, too. It fueled the secular nationalist movement, and it influenced the Mahdist movement in diffuse but significant ways. Readers will find this study valuable for understanding how economics and politics interacted during an important period of Sudan's history and what that ongoing interaction portends for the future of Sudan.

About the Author

The author is currently the U.S. Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Ambassador LeBaron joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1980, immediately after finishing his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Besides his work at Princeton, Ambassador LeBaron studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Affairs at the American University of Beirut and was a Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Khartoum in Sudan. He was a part time member of the graduate faculty of the Elliott School for International Affairs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in 2001-03.