The Evolution of the Jola Ethnic Group

The Evolution of the Jola Ethnic Group traces how globalization, imperial formations, religious movements, and postcolonial state-making have reshaped Jola/Diola communities in Foni and Casamance across Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Combining international relations, comparative politics, and political anthropology, the book links ritual life (initiation, masquerade, music), agrarian economies, migration, and gender to conflict dynamics, authoritarian rule, elections, and human rights. It situates Jola history within the rise of regional empires, the trans-Atlantic slave trade and resulting depopulation, and French and British colonial policies that imposed borders and reconfigured local institutions. The study reconstructs egalitarian, acephalous forms of authority; examines responses to Christian missions and Islamic jihad; and explains how many Jola selectively integrate new religious practices with longstanding traditions. It offers a sustained account of the Casamance rebellion and its humanitarian consequences, and traces the emergence of Jola actors in national politics in Senegal and The Gambia. A dedicated chapter analyzes the 2016 Gambian presidential election using original survey evidence and multinomial logistic regression to weigh economic evaluations, ethnicity, and human-rights concerns in voter choice. With a glossary and an ethics note on consent and permissions, the volume provides a source-rich, teaching-ready contribution for scholars and graduate students in international studies, African politics, political anthropology, and the study of religion.