The Gambia opened a new chapter in her history after 22 years of authoritarian rule under former dictator Yahya Jammeh, heralding the promise of a ‘New Gambia.’ The country is at a critical juncture in its transition from Jammeh’s autocratic rule to a fully-fledged democracy. The ambitious transitional processes include the Truth Reparations and Reconciliation Commission to create an official record of past abuses and crimes, the Constitutional Review Commission to draft a new Constitution, and the permanent National Human Rights Commission to build a human rights culture. The Gambia in transition: Towards a new constitutional order is a diverse collection of timely, rigorous, and insightful essays on human rights, constitutional reform, rule of law and democratic governance. It serves as an important reference for academics, policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations, human rights defenders, learners, and the public at large.

A former British colony, The Gambia became independent in 1965 and has had only three presidents since then. While The Gambia remained a very poor country under its first prime minister and then president (from 1970), Sir Dawda Jawara, democratic institutions survived, multi-party elections were free and fair, and the country’s human rights record was excellent. In contrast, there were seriously flawed elections and extensive human rights abuses under first the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council and then President Yahya Jammeh. Since Adama Barrow became president in 2017, democratic rule and fair elections have been restored, although many challenges remain; for example, the 2020 Constitution has still not been implemented. This book examines all aspects of recorded Gambian history from the 15th century, when the first European expeditions arrived, to the present. Historical Dictionary of The Gambia, Sixth Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 1,000 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about The Gambia.

The fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of The Gambia_through its chronology, introductory essay, appendixes, map, bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, institutions, and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects_provides an important reference on this burgeoning African country.

Ibrahim offers a comparative study of the democratic transitions in the Anglophone countries of West Africa, identifying regional trends and discreet factors. He argues that democracy is creeping up the agenda, owing to a detremined struggle for human rights and because democracy has been denied to the people for so long. He identifies a number of common issues across the region: the rise of a militarised secular state; a significant increase in public corruption; the primitive accumulation of capital; an intense battle to deepen democracy between civil society and the state; the appropriation of gender poltiics by the state through the office of the 'first ladies'; and the growing dissidence between elections and political choice. The study also addresses what may be considered an acceptable regional model in Ghana, and an unacceptable example in Liberia.