Those who are concerned with radical transformations in Africa will presumably be acquainted with Burkina Faso for two major occurrences: the brief but far-reaching phase of Thomas Sankara’s rule from 1984 to 1987, and the recent popular insurrection in October 2014 that overturned Blaise Compaoré after 27 years as president of the country. Ernest Harsch in his book Burkina Faso: a history of power, protest and revolution provides an impressive, detailed and well-informed analysis of both events that have, more or less appropriately, frequently been considered to be revolutionary. The book is basically structured in three parts: it starts with two chapters presenting the phases of French colonial rule and the almost three decades after formal independence that were characterised by reiterations of mass strikes and military coups. The core of the work is four chapters of in-depth analysis of Thomas Sankara’s coming into power, his political programme and the institutions of his rule, and his murder, which up to the current day has not been solved. Subsequently, another four chapters deal with the era of Blaise Compaoré’s regime (1987–2014) and its overthrow, and the following phase of political transition.
Though brief, the chapters on colonial and early post-colonial history are substantially enriching. They provide historical details that can hardly be found elsewhere in the anglophone literature and provide a fascinating exploration of social struggles during the colonial period and of the processes that would lead to formal independence in 1960. The analysis of the ambivalent relationship between the customary chiefs and state authorities is particularly sophisticated and enlightening, even more so as it is a key historical theme in the book.
The first part of the book deals with the Sankara era and is particularly worth reading. It builds upon the author’s long-standing research on this period and comprehensive first-hand data, including communications with Sankara himself and his followers. Harsch provides probably the most profound tracing of the processes that led to Sankara assuming power, of the circumstances of his assassination, and of the successive transformation of the ‘revolutionary’ institutions by Blaise Compaoré and his regime.
However, the depiction is characterised by a quite positive portrayal of Sankara and his ‘revolutionary’ system. Not all observers would necessarily share the appraisal that ‘in its four years in power, the CNR [Conseil national de la révolution, the National Council of the Revolution] was able to point in the direction of a new kind of state, even if it could not follow through on all aspects of its ambitious vision. But by shaking up the foundations of the old order and exposing its fundamental flaws, the revolutionaries nevertheless accomplished more to strengthen state–society relations than had been done in the previous quarter century’ (51). Nevertheless, important aspects such as the tribunals established under Sankara’s rule and his ambivalent relationship with the working class and organised labour are examined in a very nuanced manner.
The second part of the book, which deals with the Blaise Compaoré era (1987–2014), starts with a presentation of the political economy of Burkina Faso during neoliberalism, particularly the so-called structural adjustment policies promoted by the international financial institutions (IFIs) in the agriculture sector (notably cotton farming), the public sector, and from the 2000s onwards the mining sector. Compaoré willingly anticipated the IFI policies and presented his regime as an exemplary student of the World Bank. As an effect of this, inequality is particularly high in Burkina Faso, and the country steadily ranges amongst the poorest in the world, though it has experienced relative economic growth. The army and its role in destabilising the regime are analysed, as are social movement struggles that, from the late 1980s onwards, would result in the mass mobilisation and the popular insurrection of 2014. Two further chapters provide a detailed depiction of the events leading to the ousting of Compaoré, and of the following transition phase in 2015, including successful popular resistance against a coup d’état by the Presidential Guard in September and the election of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, a former follower of Compaoré, to the presidency in November 2015.
Overall, the book provides a fascinating, accessible, in-depth study of socio-political processes in Burkina Faso and particularly of the four years of Thomas Sankara’s rule. Hardly any international observer is able to tell these stories as Ernest Harsch does. His analysis is particularly enlightening not only to those studying Burkina Faso but to all readers concerned with radical transformations, by no means limited to the African continent. It would have been an even more interesting book if Harsch had linked the Burkinabè story to overarching debates, particularly on what characterises a ‘revolution’ and how it comes into being.