Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword - Mary Jo Arnoldi -- Preface - David Wiley -- Introduction - R. James Bingen, David Robinson, John M. Staatz -- Cultural and Historical Setting -- Overview of the Section on Cultural and Historical Contributions - David Robinson -- Perspectives on History and Culture: The Case of Mali - Adame Ba Konare (translated by David Robinson) -- "French Africans"-Faidherbe, Archinard, and Coppolani: The "Creators" of Senegal, Soudan, and Mauritania - David Robinson -- Generational Conflict in the Umarian Movement after the Jihad: Perspectives from the Futanke Grain Trade at Medine - John H. Hanson -- Women in Francophone West Africa in the 1930s: Unraveling a Neglected Report - Ghislaine Lydon -- Labor Migration, Gender, and Social Transformation in Rural Mali - Maria Grosz-Ngate -- Economic and Agricultural Policy Reform -- Overview-MSU's Food Security Research and Outreach Program in Mali - John M. Staatz -- Food Security Policy Reform in Mali and the Sahel - Josue Dione -- The Response of Cereals Traders to Agricultural Market Reform in Mali - Niama Nango Dembele, John M. Staatz -- The Reform of Rice Milling and Marketing in the Ofice du Niger: Catalysts for an Agricultural Success Story in Mali - Salifou Bakary Diarra, John M. Staatz, Niama Nango Dembele -- Small-Scale Inland Valley Swamp Rice Production: A Viable Enterprise in the Grain-Cotton Farming System of Southern Mali - Georges Dimithe -- Cotton in Mali: The "White Revolution" and Development - James Tefft -- Political Innovation -- Overview-The Malian Path to Democracy and Development - R. James Bingen -- From Military Dictatorship to Democracy: The Democratization Process in Mali - Andrew F. Clark -- Dimensions of Decentralization in Mali - David Rawson -- Classrooms of Democracy? The Educational Prospects of Malian Civil Society - John Uniack Davis.

Improving Women's Health in Mali: Research, Policy Review, and Recommendations - Nancy Mezey -- Prospects for Development and Democracy in West Africa: Agrarian Politics in Mali - R. James Bingen -- Epilogue -- The Malian Democracy: A Continuing Process for the Quest of Perfection - Cheick Oumar Diarrah, Malian Ambassador to U.S. (translated by Cheikh Anta Mbacke Babou) -- About the Contributors.