Extralegal Groups in Post-conflict Liberia

Extralegal Groups in Post-conflict Liberia
Author: Christine Cheng
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2018
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199673349

This book examines how the economic survival strategies of former fighters in Liberia can help explain the trajectories of war-to-peace transitions.

Development, (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa

Development, (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa
Author: Robtel Neajai Pailey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2021-01-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1108836542

Based on rich oral histories, this is an engaging study of citizenship construction and practice in Liberia, Africa's first black republic.

Liberia

Liberia
Author: Mary H. Moran
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2008-07-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812220285

Moran argues that democracy is not a foreign import into Africa, but that essential aspects of what we in the West consider democratic values are part of the indigenous traditions of legitimacy and political process.

Clausewitz and African War

Clausewitz and African War
Author: Isabelle Duyvesteyn
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2004-09-30
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135764840

Oil, diamonds, timber, food aid - just some of the suggestions put forward as explanations for African wars in the past decade. Another set of suggestions focuses on ethnic and clan considerations. These economic and ethnic or clan explanations contend that wars are specifically not fought by states for political interests with mainly conventional military means, as originally suggested by Carl von Clausewitz in the 19th century. This study shows how alternative social organizations to the state can be viewed as political actors using war as a political instrument.

Africa Yearbook Volume 16

Africa Yearbook Volume 16
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 580
Release: 2020-09-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9004430016

The Africa Yearbook covers major domestic political developments, the foreign policy and socio-economic trends in sub-Sahara Africa – all related to developments in one calendar year. The Yearbook contains articles on all sub-Saharan states, each of the four sub-regions (West, Central, Eastern, Southern Africa) focusing on major cross-border developments and sub-regional organizations as well as one article on continental developments and one on African-European relations. While the articles have thorough academic quality, the Yearbook is mainly oriented to the requirements of a large range of target groups: students, politicians, diplomats, administrators, journalists, teachers, practitioners in the field of development aid as well as business people.

Sweet Battlefields

Sweet Battlefields
Author: Mats Utas
Publisher: Mats Utas
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2003
Genre: Child soldiers
ISBN: 9150616773

Civil War and State Formation

Civil War and State Formation
Author: Felix Gerdes
Publisher: Campus Verlag
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2013-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3593398923

Liberia was the scene of two devastating civil wars since late 1989 and became widely considered a failed state. By contrast, the country is frequently described as a success story since the international professional Ellen Johnson Sirleaf assumed the presidency following democratic elections in 2005. The book investigates the political economy of civil war and democratic peace and puts the developments into historical perspective. The author argues that the civil wars did not represent the breakdown of the state but exhibited dynamics characteristic of state formation. His analysis of continuity and change in Liberia's political evolution details both political progress and persistent structural deficits of the polity. Book jacket.

What Rebels Want

What Rebels Want
Author: Jennifer M. Hazen
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2013-03-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0801467578

How easy is it for rebel groups to purchase weapons and ammunition in the middle of a war? How quickly can commodities such as diamonds and cocoa be converted into cash to buy war supplies? And why does answering these questions matter for understanding civil wars? In What Rebels Want, Jennifer M. Hazen challenges the commonly held view that rebel groups can get what they want, when they want it, and when they most need it. Hazen's assessments of resource availability in the wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire lead to a better understanding of rebel group capacity and options for war and war termination. Resources entail more than just cash; they include various other economic, military, and political goods, including natural resources, arms and ammunition, safe haven, and diplomatic support. However, rebel groups rarely enjoy continuous access to resources throughout a conflict. Understanding fluctuations in fortune is central to identifying the options available to rebel groups and the reasons why a rebel group chooses to pursue war or peace. The stronger the group's capacity, the more options it possesses with respect to fighting a war. The chances for successful negotiations and the implementation of a peace agreement increase as the options of the rebel group narrow. Sustainable negotiated solutions are most likely, Hazen finds, when a rebel group views negotiations not as one of the solutions for obtaining what it wants, but as the only solution.