Africanist Press to launch new book on Corruption and Dictatorship in Sierra Leone

By Matthew Anderson and Mark Feldman

Democracy Betrayed: Corruption, Dictatorship, and Authoritarianism in Sierra Leone is a new book scheduled to be launched by the Africanist Press in June 2025; two years after the disputed June 2023 elections in Sierra Leone.

The book, written by Africanist Press editor Chernoh Alpha M. Bah, examines the root causes of electoral violence and political instability in Africa. Using Sierra Leone’s post-war political environment as a case study, Bah’s new book shows how electoral systems are operationalized to create and consolidate authoritarian regimes in Africa that serve the economic and geopolitical interests of international corporations and local political elites.

“I examine the nexus between state criminality, political violence, and the crisis of exploitative development in West Africa,” Bah said, adding that the book provides a theoretical and empirical diagnosis of the pitfalls of neoliberal democracy in Africa.

“Similar to my previous work, this book foregrounds the role of international actors – multinational corporations, development agencies, and international financial institutions – in shaping political landscapes in favor of electoral authoritarian regimes during political contests,” Bah said, adding that the book is the result of his more than 20 year work as an investigative journalist in West Africa.

Bah is a historian and investigative journalist specializing in twentieth century West African history. He received his PhD in history from Northwestern University and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Africa Initiative at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

Bah is author of The Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Corporate Gangsters, Multinationals, and Rogue Politicians. He is currently working on a research project on West Africa’s illicit economic flows; a transnational project designed to document the sources of illicit financial flows in the Mano River corridor of West Africa and the outcomes of domestic financial neglect to the populations of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire. The project aims to build a database on transnational crime and corruption in West Africa from 1970s to present.

His current book is scheduled to be launched in late June 2025 to mark the second anniversary of, what Bah calls, “Sierra Leone’s electoral coup of June 2023.”

“More details on how to order advance copies ahead of the launch date will be announced in due course,” a publisher’s statement issued yesterday noted.