Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.

Côte d’Ivoire remains one of the most intriguing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It appeared well on its way to becoming a model of development under its single political party and charismatic founding father, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, when it fell on hard economic times in the 1980s. Poor management of the socio-economic challenges by Houphouët-Boigny’s successors produced disastrous political consequences, including unprecedented political violence, the first-ever successful military coup, and two civil wars, culminating in former President Laurent Gbagbo being sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to stand trial for war crimes. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Cote d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast) contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Cote d'Ivoire.

The end of the twentieth century, which was marked by multiparty democracy in Eastern European entities and Third World countries, moved Cte dIvoire to adhere to the new democratization system in 1990. Nine years later, the territory registered its first bloodless state coup. On September 19, 2002, the country was shared into two parts with human losses and damages when President Gbagbo was on official visit to Italy. After different attempts in negotiations (Linas-Marcoussis (2003), Pretoria agreement (2005), and the Political Agreement of Ouagadougou (2007)), for some protagonists, international organizations and NGOs, the perfect conflict resolution was about running elections so that the former peaceful land could regain its image of a prosperous and stable country. The elections that were delayed six times came to pass, and two presidents came out of the scrutiny. Gbagbo was proclaimed victorious by the Ivorian Constitutional Council, while Ouattara was acknowledged by the Independent Electoral Commission. Once more, the country fell into a postelection crisis. Meanwhile, the African Union, the European Union, the USA, the French Licorne, and the United Nations urged President Gbagbo to step down since Ouattara was considered the happy winner of the scrutiny. The refusal of Gbagbo cost human losses and led to his arrest on April 11, 2011. Nowadays, the country is not unified and reconciled, but it will have the 2015 elections.