This study argues that the formation of Americo-Liberian identity overwhelmingly relied on White American middle class cultural values despite the founders' criticisms and rejection of racial oppression and slavery. Americo-Liberians' previous participation in a culture that downgrades African heritage fostered the internalization of Western notions of civilization and African inferiority that led them to establish an oppressive regime similar to the one they had escaped from, and even enslaved the indigenous population, which they considered "uncivilized." The study thus investigates how formerly oppressed and enslaved blacks became oppressors and enslavers of other black people in the name of a "civilizing mission." The relationship that developed between Americo-Liberians and indigenous Liberians provides a case study to explore the impact of White supremacy ideology on enslaved Africans and racial uplift ideology. Building on contributions of social theory and conflict theory my analysis of Americo-Liberians demonstrates how social class and ideology interacted to produce socio-economic developments that led to the Liberian Civil War. This study covers the founding of Liberia as a republic during the 1840's through the League of Nation's intervention in 1928. It is during this time period that Americo-Liberians fostered an exploitative and colonizing relationship with the indigenous Liberian population. Previous scholarship regarding Liberia engages in descriptive analysis this study is the first to employ the theoretical framework of double-consciousness to further illuminate the ambivalent positions of the Americo-Liberians vis-a-vis indigenous Liberians

Public sector corruption is a major problem in Monrovia. Successive national governments have instituted anticorruption measures in the 1970s and 2000s, and anticorruption agencies were established to eradicate corruption. However, there appears to be a significant lack of resources and political willpower to prosecute corrupt government officials. A failure to curb political corruption indicates that current policies are not working. Government works when there is a perception that it delivers results and that the needs and safety of the citizenry are protected. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to gain a deeper understanding of public sector corruption at high levels of government in Monrovia. The conceptual framework for this study was based on the sociological theory of collaboration, within which governance is seen as a component of interpersonal relationships and a way to build trust and social interactions. Data were collected from open-ended semistructured interviews with former and present government officials (N = 8). The results were coded using descriptive coding to take an inventory of the contents, and to classify the coding into themes and subthemes. Results indicated that distrust among stakeholders and various governing institutions has hindered cooperation. Civic engagement and participation, patriotism, decentralization of the central government, job creation, safety and security, law and order, education and healthcare, and diluting the powers of the presidency, etc., were some of the issues raised by the participants. This dissertation may support positive social change in a meaningful way by providing policymakers with the information to make the country safe and governable, increase the standard of living and bring needed relief to the citizenry.