1st Edition
Postcolonial Politics in Sierra Leone, 1961-2001 Arrested Democracy and the Rise of Autocracy
By Gibril R. Cole
Copyright 2026
250 Pages
3 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
250 Pages
3 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
This book investigates the historical trajectory of postcolonial Sierra Leone, especially the persistence of a culture of political violence and autocratic tendencies.
Regarded as a litmus test for the consolidation of democracy in postwar Sierra Leone, the 2023 national polls instead became a stark reminder of the persistence of élite bickering, electoral malfeasance, autocratic political... Read more
Introduction
Chapter 1: Decolonization and its Discontents in Sierra Leone
Chapter 2: Milton Margai and the Travails of a Fledgling Democracy
Chapter 3: Albert Margai and Quest for Autocracy
Chapter 4: Military Interregnum 1967-1968
Chapter 5: Siaka Stevens, the APC, and Personalization of Power
Chapter 6: Popular Resistance and Autocratic Consolidation
Chapter 7: The APC One Party Autocracy and Roots of the Sierra Leone Civil War
Afterword
Biography
Gibril R. Cole is an Associate Professor at the Department of History at Louisiana State University, USA.
