The essence of this thesis is to explore the role of Nigeria, West Africa's hegemon, in the intervention efforts by the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) through its Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in both Liberia (1990-1997) and Sierra Leone (1993-2000). While the thesis has sought to understand the leading role played by Nigeria in first establishing the ECOWAS and being the primus motor for its functions, I have also attempted to analyse the rationalities for the transformation of ECOWAS from a purely economic integrative scheme to a security organisation. While the economic agendas for ECOWAS have not changed, the argument in this thesis is that security related issues and realities have taken precedence over the original economistic agendas. One of the thesis' major arguments is that the nature of results attained in both Liberia and Sierra Leone are different because of (a) the leadership role of Nigeria and (b) the nature of international responses and contributions to the resolution of these conflicts. In the thesis, I argue that in the Liberian case, Nigeria took a more domineering leadership role albeit tinged with the characteristics of the actions of a benevolent hegemon. Here, Nigeria through different processes either through leadership, consensus-seeking processes and dialogue managed to get other ECOWAS states to coalesce around its leadership. However, in Sierra Leone, Nigeria's leadership role was not permitted to unfold. The resultant effect was the shift from NIFAG to ECOMOG and eventually "rekindling hatred" of these troops as UN troops. This thesis has pointed to the utility of sub-regional organisations in resolving conflicts and demonstrates the need for further study. / Political Science / DLITT ET PHIL (INT POL)

The main purpose of this research was to understand the civil war in Sierra Leone and its antecedents, and to analyse the package of reconstruction reforms which came along in the post-war era and their relevance for and impact on the local challenges for longer term peace. Continued corruption among the political class, the persistent disenfranchisement of important social groups, and emerging tensions along political party lines suggested that, ten years on from the Lomé Peace Accord, there may have been a malaise in the peacebuilding plan. To investigate the complex issues, and to support the hypothesis that the model for reconstruction was not best suited to local conditions and local priorities, the work first made a deep interrogation of the historic political, cultural and economic factors which led to the violent conflict. This scrutiny of the local experience allowed the conceptualisation of a germane 'framework for peace' which represented the most pressing priorities of the local community and the central challenges for peace. The framework reflected the main concerns of the local populace and was used as an analytical tool to better understand the relevance of the model for reconstruction vis-à-vis the local context. Through a critical analysis of the post-war reforms and their impact on the social dimensions of recovery, in particular macro-economic reforms and the promotion of democracy, conclusions were drawn about the appropriateness and efficacy of the model of reconstruction experienced in Sierra Leone and how it supported local priorities for peace. The enquiry found that, in general, the model for reconstruction was not best suited to the local context because of its inflexibility to support the local peacebuilding and its many challenges. In some ways the model for reconstruction heightened residual tensions from the conflict because it failed to address key issues for reform such as governance and social justice.

Civil wars have become more prevalent in modern times and present unique challenges to conflict resolution. Third parties often intervene in civil wars attempting to insure that peace is imposed and will persist. However, the impact of third parties on intrastate conflicts remains incomplete. The civil conflict literature does not sufficiently distinguish how third parties promote peaceful outcomes during a peacekeeping operation and why a state remains stable after the peacekeepers leave. By examining data on third party interventions from 1946-2006 and individually examining the case of Sierra Leone, this research concludes that peacekeeping missions promoting transparency, credible information sharing, and strong signals of commitment present the best possibilities for peace during and after the mission. Analysis from empirical tests and case study support that peacekeeping missions are most effective when they allow for credible and reliable communication between domestic adversaries. Ultimately, third parties must promote a political solution between rebel and government factions in civil wars so that peaceful methods of dispute resolution are promoted in the absence of a third party preventing the recurrence of war.

Broadly, the study examines the argument that education potentially contributes to violent conflict or, on the contrary, acts as a mediating factor in the reconstruction of divided or fragmented societies; indeed, as a driver for peace and unity. It looks at the case of Sierra Leone, a country emerging from a decade-long civil war (1991–2002). There are four aims to the study: <ul><li>(1) To examine, by drawing on a number of disciplines, the theoretical explanations of what puts societies at risk of violent conflict;</li><li>(2) Using these interdisciplinary perspectives, to identify the features of educational systems that are considered to be associated with or give rise to violent conflict;</li><li>(3) To examine which of these characteristics are present in post-conflict Sierra Leone; and</li><li>(4) Based on the findings, to formulate a number of general theoretical propositions about the characteristics of educational systems that might put society at risk of conflict.</li></ul> The research question for the study is: Which features of the educational system in Sierra Leone might put the country at risk of further conflict? Importantly, the research question is approached theoretically; a study attempting to demonstrate this solely empirically would not be feasible. The study adopts a robust interdisciplinary approach. It seeks explanations across the social sciences for the causes of violent conflict and identifies three theories that bear upon the key features that characterise many contemporary conflicts, i.e. ethnicity or cultural identities, status as a low-income country, and ‘fragile’ or failing states. The explanations revolve around the theories of: 1) ‘horizontal inequalities’ by Frances Stewart; 2) the ‘opportunity cost of rebellion’ by Paul Collier et al.; and 3) the role of state and ruling elites by Robert Bates. The study, then, together with an analysis of education and its relationship to conflict, creates an interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual framework on the characteristics of educational systems associated with a risk of violent conflict. Methodologically, the study examines the educational system of post-conflict Sierra Leone as a case study, focusing on young people’s experiences, perceptions, and expectations of education. Three groups of young people with different educational experiences in Makeni city are selected as principal cases: (1) 15 students in a secondary school; (2) 15 students in technical and vocational training; and (3) 10 out-of-school informants. Additionally, 49 adult key informants were interviewed (among which 34 were ultimately analysed) and documentary analyses were conducted. The findings from the study reveal a number of features in the educational system in Sierra Leone (in areas such as access, curriculum, and governance) that the theoretical lens adopted in the study suggests as being associated with a risk of violent conflict. The analysis that follows seeks to further elucidate these features and recognise their complexity. The analysis is enriched by the perspectives and experiences of the beneficiaries of education who participated in the study. This sets it apart from other studies. The limitation of the study lies in the fact that it cannot demonstrate a causal relationship between the features of education and possible further violent conflict in Sierra Leone (a challenge most studies of this kind would face). The study does, however, offer a rich theoretical and conceptual framework and a robust set of theoretical propositions in relation to the question it poses. In contribution to the field and the growing literature on this topic, the study offers a theoretical and conceptual base for future research tackling the role of education in violent conflict and for building (and modifying) knowledge on the topic.

This study, which seeks to contribute to the shared-body of knowledge on media and war crimes jurisprudence, gauges the impact of the media’s coverage of the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) and Charles Taylor trials conducted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) on the functionality of civil society organizations (CSOs) in promoting transitional (post-conflict) justice and democratic legitimacy in Sierra Leone. The media’s impact is gauged by contextualizing the stimulus-response paradigm in the behavioral sciences. Thus, media contents are rationalized as stimuli and the perceptions of CSOs’ representatives on the media’s coverage of the trials are deemed to be their responses. The study adopts contents (framing) and discourse analyses and semi-structured interviews to analyse the publications of the selected media (For Di People, Standard Times and Awoko) in Sierra Leone. The responses to such contents are theoretically explained with the aid of the structured interpretative and post-modernistic response approaches to media contents. And, methodologically, CSOs’ representatives’ responses to the media’s contents are elicited by ethnographic surveys (group discussions) conducted across the country. The findings from the contents and discourse analyses, semi-structured interviews and ethnographic surveys are triangulated to establish how the media’s coverage of the two trials impacted CSOs’ representatives’ perceptions on post-conflict justice and democratic legitimacy in Sierra Leone. To test the validity and reliability of the findings from the ethnographic surveys, four hundred (400) questionnaires, one hundred (100) for each of the four regions (East, South, North and Western Area) of Sierra Leone, were administered to barristers, civil/public servants, civil society activists, media practitioners, students etc. The findings, which reflected the perceptions of people from large swathe of opinions in Sierra Leone, appeared to have dovetailed with those of the CSOs’ representatives across the country. The study established that the media’s coverage of the CDF trial appeared to have been tainted with ethno-regional prejudices, and seemed to be ‘a continuation of war by other means’. However, the focus groups perceived the media reporting as having a positive effect on the pursuit of post-conflict justice, good governance and democratic accountability in Sierra Leone. The coverage of the Charles Taylor trial appeared to have been devoid of ethno-regional prejudices, but, in the view of the CSOs, seemed to have been coloured by lenses of patriotism and nationalism.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This study examines and problematizes how the Resolution 1325 has impacted women's inclusion in two developing countries. The study focuses on how the resolution 1325 has affected and increased women's inclusion in peacebuilding since the implementation in Rwanda (2009) and Sierra Leone (2010). To analyse the results a theoretical framing is used, which is Empowerment theory and Feminist Approaches to Peacebuilding. This thesis uses a comparative literature method to compare the impacts in the two cases and critical reading is used while searching for material in e.g. scientific articles and in reports. Based on the theoretical framing and the material that are used in this thesis, the study concludes that Rwanda and Sierra Leone have experienced different results from the implementation of resolution 1325. This study concludes that the implementation of resolution 1325 in Rwanda has worked as a tool to push gender equality further in peace processes as in the parliament and in the security sector, alongside women's organizations and activists since 2009. The results in Sierra Leone concludes that the implementation of resolution 1325 has progressed the work within peacebuilding as the proportion of women has increased in peace processes and in the police and security-sector since 2010. However, the development in Rwanda had come further before the implementation of resolution 1325 and therefore the results differ in these countries.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis extends the literature on the trends and magnitude of health inequalities in the area of maternal and reproductive health services in Sierra Leone, and particular across sub-Saharan Africa. It attempted to provide a good understanding of, not only the determinants of maternal and reproductive healthcare use, but also factors that enable health inequalities to exist in Sierra Leone. This is an appropriate topic in population health studies as it aims to address important questions on the research agenda in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in a country with poor health outcomes such as Sierra Leone. A proper understanding of not only the coverage rates of population health outcomes but also the extent of health inequalities as well as the factors that contribute to these inequalities is crucial for any government. The thesis applied various techniques in the analysis of DHS data (from 2008 and 2013 rounds) in an attempt to answer the research questions.

My thesis is an ethnographic study of Sierra Leonean living in London. I examine the interrelationships between diasporic orientations and the specific locality in which people are living. As such, my research is at the intersection between literatures on African diasporas, and research on new immigration and diversity, two fields which I argue deal with the same ‘problem' – that of the incorporation of migrants into some form of nation-state identification. In my empirical chapters I explore Sierra Leoneans encounters with diversity in a range of places within London, and engage with Brah's (1996) conception of diaspora space, as well as recent work on the topic of super-diversity (Vertovec 2007) as a way to elucidate such these interactions. I focus on key sites within Sierra Leonean London – a popular street market, the religious spaces of a church and a mosque, and the temporary spaces used for the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Sierra Leonean independence. I explore how individuals manage the twin pressures of incorporation from both the UK and Sierra Leonean states, and how these pressures reconcile in efforts to create lives in the interstices of two cultural systems. I look at how a specific cultural heritage shapes their engagements with each other and with outsiders, and how encounters with others and the experience of life in London affect their relationship with their country of origin. The thesis argues that Sierra Leoneans living in London manage these pressures using a cultural imaginary rooted in postcoloniality – i.e. shaped by the enduring effects of colonialism and its aftermath. This legacy has resulted in a profound ambivalence towards both London and Sierra Leone, as poles of this relationship, with many Sierra Leoneans coming to see the diaspora as “home”: a productive ‘”third space” with resources and opportunities beyond that of their home country. The dependence of these diasporic spaces on the contributions of diverse ‘others'provides broader affiliations, that result in a less tightly-held national identity, with Pan-West-African and African identification, becoming increasingly salient.