Established as a country a little more than a century ago, born as an independent republic in June 1977, Djibouti is among the youngest as well as the smallest states in Africa. Yet its strategic location at the crossroads of the maritime trade routes between Africa, Asia and Europe turned this tiny spot on the world map into a vital player in twentieth century geopolitics. This historical dictionary has been conceived not as a history book but as a reading grid for the major historical items that are still molding the country's social, political and economic life.
