The use of group lending for poverty alleviation is a widespread feature of modern microfinance. The structure of joint-liability credit - if one member defaults the others are held financially responsible - produces a natural tension between a borrower's social and economic interests. This study integrates theory from economics, sociology, and behavioural experiments to address the question, "How do social and economic mechanisms interact to shape a microcredit group's financial behaviour?" The empirical analysis involves an original dataset from a microfinance institution in Sierra Leone. The total dataset includes 7,025 joint-liability borrowers involved in 47,931 repayment transactions from 2005 to 2011. The empirical methods used are diverse: ethnographic fieldwork, GPS spatial analysis, social affiliation survey design, and multilevel statistical analysis of loan performance data. The original work is structured as three distinct papers. In the first paper, I examine social collateral, the formal use of a borrower's relationships as security against loan default. How does a group's spatial structure affect the efficacy of social collateral? Spatial concentration improves a group's economic performance up to a certain level after which the effect reverses and performance declines. The relationship is driven by a social trade-off between ability and willingness to enforce the loan. Further, groups that consist of multiple spatial fragments produce worse performance. Spatially fragmented groups are prone to splitting into social factions. In the second paper, I question what drives the self-selection process of microcredit group formation. The results show that group leaders prefer members with pre-existing social ties, who are spatially proximate, and have matching business types. The preference for socio-spatial factors is likely motivated by reducing the risk of strategic default by group members. In the third paper, I explore how economic cooperation in small groups evolves over years of repeated interaction. Despite the selective retention of better performing groups, average cooperation rates consistently decline, in terms of contribution and effort. Further, variance across groups continues to increase over 30 months of repeated interaction, suggesting that convergence to a stable cooperation rate has not occurred. Given that group lending exhibits many of the factors found to promote cooperation in laboratory experiments, it is surprising to find such a marked decline in this field setting. Overall, this thesis contributes to economic sociology by dissecting the difficult trade-offs between social and economic motives in group lending and offers policy implications for microfinance institutions regarding group formation heuristics, contract design, and loan management.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis will examine the emerging role of a sub-regional organization dealing with peacekeeping and peacemaking missions on the post-Cold-War period in West Africa. This examination will focus mainly on ECOWAS and ECOMOG, its military wing, as the most prominent sub-regional organization in conducting peacemaking and peacekeeping missions in Africa. This thesis will focus on the first generation interventions of ECOWAS/ECOMOG in undertaking peacemaking and peacekeeping missions in Liberia (1990 - 1997), Sierra Leone, (1998 - 2000), and Guinea Bissau (1998 - 1999)), and the second generation of interventions in Liberia in 2003 and in CoÌ te d'Ivoire (2003-2004). This examination aimed at assessing ECOWAS' strengths and limitations and comparing to which the second generation interventions have benefited from the lessons of the first. / Commander, Royal Moroccan Navy

Durante os anos de 2013 a 2016, a África do Oeste, mais precisamente a região do Mano River Union Libéria, Serra Leoa e Guiné-Conacri viveu sob uma das piores epidemias do vírus do ebola ocorridas desde 1976, ano do primeiro relato do vírus no antigo Zaire (atual Congo). Entendendo a epidemia como locus privilegiado para a compressão das estruturas de uma sociedade, podendo descortinar conflitos políticos e desigualdades sociais e econômicas, dediquei-me à feitura de uma etnografia na Serra Leoa, durante 9 meses, momento em que morei em Freetown, a capital do país, e também em comunidades rurais. Na medida em que a epidemia neste país matou mais mulheres do que homens, busquei entender o porquê deste fato. Para tanto, segui as histórias de três mulheres mortas por conta do vírus: Jinnah Amana da comunidade de Komende-Luyama, Isha Tullah de Devil Hole e Fatmata de John Thorpe. A partir de um intenso trabalho de campo, concluí que a maior mortandade de mulheres serra-leonenses estava diretamente relacionada ao trabalho do cuidado dispendido a seus familiares e amigos. Deste modo, a epidemia do ebola na Serra Leoa era generificada, colocando mulheres em risco por conta da pesada responsabilização destas perante a trama de parentesco e afetos. Diante disso, cunhei o termo cuidado perigoso como uma categoria boa para pensar as relações de gênero por detrás da epidemia do ebola na Serra Leoa. Portanto, esta pesquisa segue as narrativas reveladoras de mulheres, vivas e mortas, a respeito do ebola na Serra Leoa. Narrativas estas que apontaram para a impossibilidade de se entender a epidemia do Ebola ou qualquer outro fenômeno social da Serra Leoa - sem se acessar as memórias da guerra civil vivida no país durante os anos de 1991 a 2002. / From 2013 to 2016, the West Africa, more precisely the Mano River Union region Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Conakry went through one of the worst Ebola virus epidemics since 1976, the year when the virus was first reported in Zaire (now, Congo). Understanding the epidemic as a privileged locus to understand the structures of a society, revealing political conflicts and social and economic inequalities, I dedicated myself to do ethnography in Sierra Leone for 9 months, when I lived in Freetown, the capital of the country, but also in rural communities. As the epidemic in this country killed more women than men, I sought to understand why this was occurred. In this way, I followed the stories of three women killed by the virus: Jinnah Amana from Komende-Luyama community, Isha Tullah from Devil Hole and Fatmata from John Thorpe. From an intensive fieldwork, I concluded that the large number of female death in Sierra Leonean was directly related to the work of the care expended on their relatives and friends. Thus, the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone was gendered, placing women at risk because of their heavy accountability to the network of kinship and affections. Faced with this, I coined the term \"dangerous care\" as a good category to think about the gender relations behind the ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone. Therefore, this research follows the revealing narratives of women, alive and dead, regarding the ebola in Sierra Leone. These narratives pointed to the impossibility of understanding the Ebola epidemic - or any other social phenomena in Sierra Leone - without accessing the memories of the civil war in the country during the years 1991 to 2002.

A critical re-examination of the liberal peace is conducted to explore the ways in which certain ideas around peace have come to dominate and to be regarded as “common sense”. The foundation of my critique comes in the personalisation of peacebuilding through the stories of people who are the intended beneficiaries of its actions. This thesis seeks to open up and challenge the current measures of success and the location of power by introducing voices and experiences of Mende people located in the Southern and Eastern provinces of Sierra Leone. I have attempted to open up a reflexive space where simple questions can be re-examined and the location of recovery can be seen as a space influenced, shaped and performed in the context of diverse influences. I draw on my personal experience living in Bo, Sierra Leone for two months in 2014 and local level actors' subjective reflections on individual and communal notions of recovery, post-conflict. My findings are reflected in “building blocks” that uncover a partial story of personal perspectives on recovery. The story suggests a de-centred and complex “local” within the existing context and realigns the understanding of subject and agency within peacebuilding. This collection of experiences, stories and encounters reshapes the notion of peace as an everyday activity with the aim of improving well-being on a personal level. It is also a part of the peacebuilding process that exists outside of the traditional organisational lens. My main contribution has been in allowing alternative space(s) of peacebuilding and peace-shaping to have a platform that is not restricted by the confined epistemic “expert” community toward an understanding of “progress” as an experiential and subjective process of recovery. This approach sought to challenge the current site of legitimacy, power and knowledge, and in order to achieve this aim I drew on a new methodological toolkit and the absorption of key concepts from other disciplines such as managerialism and the sociological concept of the “stranger”. My research offers an opportunity to observe and utilise information sourced from the creativity and spontaneity of the everyday lived experiences of Sierra Leoneans and ordinary phenomena connected with this.

Sierra Leone was heavily affected by the West African Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic from 2013 to 2016. Ongoing EVD transmission during the epidemic was connected to several factors including unsafe traditional burial practices. This phenomenological qualitative study addressed Kono members' perceived knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding how burial practices influenced EVD transmission. Rosenstock's health belief model provided the framework for the study. The participants purposefully selected from various religions and professions were interviewed individually and in focus group settings. Similar phrases and comments were identified from the interview responses resulted which resulted in the following 5 main themes: (a) Kono community leaders and public health workers were cognizant of important EVD issues, but there was a knowledge deficit among Konos about EVD and its mode of transmission; (b) although customary burial rituals were temporarily banned from 2014 to 2016, they were practiced among the Konos to promote culture-driven dignity and respect for the dead; (c) many Konos harbored grudges and mistrusted government officials and public health workers; (d) infrastructural deficits were a barrier to health care as private and public sectors lacked training and equipment to mitigate the 2013-2016 EVD outbreak; and (e) participants were willing to adopt safer burial practices if EVD outbreaks were to reemerge. These findings indicated that EVD transmission was connected to unsafe burial practices. Findings may be used to improve community engagement and public health outreach efforts to promote safer burial practices, especially during periods of infectious disease outbreaks.

Les opérations de consolidation de la paix (OCP) sont l'ensemble des actions menées en vue de définir et d'étayer les structures propres à raffermir la paix afin d'éviter une reprise des hostilités. Bien que des actions de consolidation se rencontrent avant 1992, l'existence des opérations de consolidation de la paix fut consta-tée et dénommée par l'ancien Secrétaire général des Nations unies Boutros Boutros-Ghali dans l'Agenda pour la paix. Par la suite, les diffé-rentes études réalisées et la pratique ont permis de cerner les acteurs, les objectifs et les besoins d'une OCP. Ainsi la consolidation de la paix inclut non seulement des questions de sécurité – qui peuvent relever d'une mission de police – mais également des questions de restauration de la démocratie, de développement socio-économique et de la justice. Même si le Conseil de sécurité occupe une place importante dans la consolidation de la paix, il n'en est ni le seul acteur, ni le principal responsable. Ce sont, au contraire, de nombreux organes de l'ONU et organismes internationaux qui interviennent au cours des différentes étapes de la consolidation de la paix. Afin d'apporter une réponse adéquate au besoin de coordination et de coopération entre ces différents acteurs, la Commission de consolidation de la paix a été créée en 2005. Elle est le premier organe cosubsidiaire des Nations unies : elle dépend à la fois de l'Assemblée générale et du Conseil de sécurité, ce qui n'est pas sans susciter des difficultés. Elle n'est cependant pas le principal acteur de la consolida-tion de la paix puisque la responsabilité principale de chaque opération incombe à l'Etat en question. Malgré le nombre important de conflits dans le monde, la Commission n'a actuellement que quatre pays inscrits à son ordre du jour : le Burundi, la Sierra Leone, la Guinée-Bissau et la République Centrafricaine. On peut, toutefois, souhaiter qu'un nombre croissant d'Etats s'inscrive prochainement auprès de cette nouvelle Commission pour éviter le retour des conflits.

Ethno-politicization has been identified as a covert yet pervasive contributing factor in the various outbreaks of violence throughout Sierra Leone’s post-independence history. With the latest round of violent conflict having ended in 2002, the government of Sierra Leone in collaboration with local and international partners is presently engaged in peace-building. That being said, institutionalized peace-building has a considerable but imperfect track record of success. Furthermore, the intricate way in which ethno-politicization is woven into the social-political fabric of Sierra Leone is such that, if not effectively treated, it poses a continuing threat to the stability of the nation. Accordingly this thesis examined the extent to which ethno-depoliticization strategies have been directly incorporated into the peace-building framework. This task was accomplished through the development of a five-point definition of ethno-politicization that is based on the institutional instrumentalist theory. The definition provided an analytical framework used in the interpretation of results from a policy audit and field interviews with representatives of the peace-building architects. The research revealed that within the peace-building framework, ethno-politicization is not directly acknowledged as a real and ongoing threat to peace and stability and hence, a prioritized component of the peace-building architecture. However, some of the policy initiatives contained within the peace-building framework will indirectly result in ethno-depoliticization outcomes. These policy initiatives nevertheless require more rigorous and focused implementation and monitoring to be effective. Accordingly, the study recommends (i) the implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (ii) a constitutional amendment stipulating ethnic quotas for political party leadership and parliamentary candidates; (iii) the strengthening of civil society;(iv) an intensive nation-wide campaign promoting a national identity and; (v) the strengthening of democratic institutions, which also includes making ethnically-inclusive and ethnically impartial practices within public institutions as part of the performance evaluation of senior public servants.

<p>Corruption is a serious problem which has many negative impacts on sustainable economic development globally. The clandestine nature of corruption makes it difficult to detect. Hence, efforts to combat corruption successfully demand comprehensive anti-corruption legislation, strong powers, as well as special investigative techniques and strategies. An effective anti-corruption regime requires a comprehensive anti-corruption legal framework which not only punishes all forms of corruption but also capacitates anti-corruption institutions. A strong anti-corruption agency is a&nbsp / crucial requirement and a necessary part of a country&rsquo / s anti-corruption strategy. The failure or the success of an anti-corruption agency depends on a variety of factors, such as powers and means to detect, investigate and prosecute corruption and related offences. The lack of trained staff, as well as the lack of adequate material resources, also affects the effectiveness of an anti-corruption agency. The anti-corruption agencies covered by this research are not empowered or resourced sufficiently, which may result in their ineffectiveness. This paper provides a set of recommendations in respect of the powers and strategies needed for a successful anti-corruption agency.</p>

Hovedopgave. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

<p>Corruption is a serious problem which has many negative impacts on sustainable economic development globally. The clandestine nature of corruption makes it difficult to detect. Hence, efforts to combat corruption successfully demand comprehensive anti-corruption legislation, strong powers, as well as special investigative techniques and strategies. An effective anti-corruption regime requires a comprehensive anti-corruption legal framework which not only punishes all forms of corruption but also capacitates anti-corruption institutions. A strong anti-corruption agency is a&nbsp / crucial requirement and a necessary part of a country&rsquo / s anti-corruption strategy. The failure or the success of an anti-corruption agency depends on a variety of factors, such as powers and means to detect, investigate and prosecute corruption and related offences. The lack of trained staff, as well as the lack of adequate material resources, also affects the effectiveness of an anti-corruption agency. The anti-corruption agencies covered by this research are not empowered or resourced sufficiently, which may result in their ineffectiveness. This paper provides a set of recommendations in respect of the powers and strategies needed for a successful anti-corruption agency.</p>