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Volume :48 Issue : 2 2020
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Tribe and State Delicate in Mauritania: From the Colonial Era to the Multi-Party Nation
Auther : Yacoub Bahdah
This study aims at revealing the tribإs nature, structure, and history of the "Bidhan" Arab tribal system in Mauritania. The study also finds tribal leaders' pattern of managing individuals and relations with colonial and post-colonial state authorities. In addition, the study sheds light on the tribal system's religious and social mechanisms for managing community affairs and inter-tribal relations. Another objective of this paper is to present the tribe's status based on historical accumulations and the present socio-political situation. Methods: Using the historical method, due to the study's nature, a number of Arabic and foreign studies were reviwed in order to answer the research questions under investigation. A main feature of the historical method is that it revives the past to collect information about events, and it helps unverstand the present by collecting, comparing and analysing data. This helps decipher and better understand today's data more realistically. Results: The study found that historical, geographical, environmental, and economic factors affected the status of "Bidhan" tribe. Such factors contribute to determining the tribe's nature and its exdterna relations including relations with authorities.
Conclusion: Tribe's presence is widely noticed in all aspects of life and the tribe is more powerful than any other enriry. There are no indicators that the tribe's role, status, and domination will relinquish soon.
Keywords: Mauritania, Tribe, Bidhan, Arab tribes, Banu Hassan, State, Power.