The aims and objectives of this study are notably, to provide an overall understanding of the history of Liberia, from the country’s foundation, through the civil war, up to the present day post-conflict scenario. It intends to identify the strategies and schemes put in place by Liberian officials and other stakeholders, while outlining the importance of attaining the goals attached to these various plans. The difficulties of achieving these post-conflict development goals will also be noted, and finally, It analyses whether the concepts used in Liberia might also be implemented in post-conflict societies not only in Africa, but all over the world.

The thesis in the main, looks at the decision-making process which underlined the Economic Community of West African States' attempt to end the Liberian crisis. It examines the establishment of ECOMOG to intervene in the Liberian civil crisis and the various pacific attempts to resolve the Liberian question. It does so through the medium of decision - making theory and some of the conceptual models that have flowed out of it. The thesis' focus on the decisional process of a regional body marks an attempt to broaden the scope of application of decision - making paradigms, which are usually employed to analyse decisions of national governments. The imperative for analysing the decisional process of ECOWAS in its quest to find solution to the Liberian problem has in part been dictated by the novelty of the ECOMOG concept. It marks the first major attempt of a sub - regional economic organization to successfully find solution to a civil conflict, as a result, there are numerous lessons to be gleaned from its failures and successes. Its relevance in the African context, with its intractable conflicts cannot be overemphasized. It has also been motivated by the fact that more works need to be produced on the decision-making processes of governments and regional bodies within the continent. The thesis argues that, both rational and "irrational" elements infused the decisional process of ECOW AS in its bid to solve the Liberian Crisis. Among other things, Policy-makers were influenced in their choice of decision by rational calculations based on national interest. It examines the clash of interests which characterized the establishment ofECOMOG as an tntervention force, the impasse this fostered and how it was eventually resolved. It postulates that exteljIlal actors influenced the decision process and that policy :Qiakers were aided to make the decisions they made by other organs in the decisional chain. The "irrational" component of the process, among other things, could be seen from the fact that the Liberian question was solved in " bits and pieces". Besides, blunders were committed through defective decision - making mechanism. The thesis concludes by offering suggestions to improve the quality of ECOW AS decision-making process with regard to conflict resolution and how to achieve regional consensus.

Despite the remarkable contributions made by women to secure peace in Liberia, women's representation in politics is still low. The first female African President has been elected, as well as a few women to strategic government positions, but the vast majority of women remain invisible. The reliance on these few women in government is inadequate to produce the significant changes that will be required to bring equality for all women. This study examines the recognition of women's relative participation and recognition in postwar reconstruction in Liberia. Differences between traditional and non-traditional women's participation in Liberia were found. This study includes interviews and document review as methods for exploring how women, traditional and nontraditional, may or may not participate in Liberian political decisions.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to describe the factors that led to the creation of warlords in Angola and Sierra Leone so as to better understand the dynamics and origins of warlord politics. The two warlords that were focused on, and compared, were Jonas Savimbi (Angola) and Charles Taylor (Liberia and Sierra Leone). Authors like Mary Kaldor (2006), William Reno (1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007) and Collier and Hoeffler (2004) contributed toward the base of this study. Their work captured the issues contributing toward the warlord phenomenon and generated thought surrounding the context in which these warlords arose. John Mackinlay (2000) was used to describe and analyse the origins of warlordism and how the warlord phenomenon has changed with the onset of new wars, especially in the late 20th and 21st centuries (Kaldor, 2006). Furthermore, the work of Thomas H. Greene (1984) was used in guiding this thesis into a systematic study, focusing mainly on the leadership, following, organization, techniques and external support of both Jonas Savimbi and Charles Taylor as examples of contemporary warlords. Through utilizing the contributions of the above authors on this topic, the similarities and differences between the two warlords were explored. The study found that while Jonas Savimbi and Charles Taylor emerged from different eras and contexts (Savimbi out of the Cold War and Taylor as a result of globalization), they both became typical warlords. Savimbi only became a warlord after 1992. Before, Savimbi used Maoist ideology while an insurgent against Portugal, whereafter he became a rebel in the Angolan civil war. Taylor was a warlord in diamond-rich neighbouring Sierra Leone. Both used identity politics to gather a following while Taylor used brute force and the manipulation of the youth. They both manipulated illicit criminal networking and operated internationally, smuggling diamonds. The main difference, however, is that Taylor was an insurgent in Liberia where he seized power in 1990 and became president in 1997, while a warlord in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Savimbi, on the other hand, never attained presidential power even though he participated in the 1992 Angolan elections which he lost, whereafter he ceased to be a revolutionary, and became a real warlord without the external support he previously had. Savimbi was assassinated in 2002 and Taylor abdicated in 2003, currently standing trial in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. He stands trial for the human right atrocities committed in Sierra Leone. Their legacies live on. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om die faktore te beskryf wat gely het tot die ontstaan van krygshere (“warlords“)in Angola en Sierra Leone, en om die dinamika van krygsheerpolitiek beter te verstaan. Die twee krygshere waarop gefokus en vergelyk was, is Jonas Savimbi (Angola) en Charles Taylor (Liberië en Sierra Leone). Die denke van skrywers soos Mary Kaldor (2006), William Reno (1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007) en Collier & Hoeffler (2004) het bygedra tot die basis van hierdie studie. Hulle werk het ingesluit die aspekte wat bygedra het tot die krygsheer fenomeen, en het besinning aangemoedig oor die agtergrondsfaktore waaruit hierdie twee krygshere ontstaan het. John Mackinlay (2000) se werk is gebruik om die oorsprong van krygsheerpolitiek te beskryf, asook hoe die krygsheerfenomeen verander het met die uitbreek van “nuwe oorloë“ (Kaldor, 2006), veral aan die einde van die 20ste en 21ste eeue. Verder is die werk van Thomas H. Greene (1984) gebruik om hierdie tesis ‘n sistematiese struktuur te gee wat gefokus is op die leierskap, volgelinge, organisasie, tegnieke en eksterne ondersteuning van Jonas Savimbi en Charles Taylor. Hierdie twee persone is albei voorbeelde van kontemporêre krygshere in die jongste verlede. ‘n Vergelykende studie verg dat ooreenkomste en verskille tussen die twee krygshere verken word deur gebruik te maak van die bydraes van bogenoemde skrywers. In die studie is bevind dat alhoewel Jonas Savimbi en Charles Taylor uit verskillende eras en agtergrond kom (Savimbi uit die Koue Oorlog en Taylor as gevolg van globalisasie), albei tipiese krygshere geword het. Savimbi het Maoistiese ideologie gebruik terwyl hy ’n insurgent teen Portugal was. Daarná het hy ’n rebel in die Angolese burgeroorlog geword. Hy het eers na 1992 ‘n krygsheer geword nadat hy die verkiesing verloor het en sy buitelandse steun verloor het. Taylor, aan die ander kant, was ‘n krygsheer in die diamantryke buurland, Sierra Leone. Altwee krygshere het identiteitspolitiek gebruik om volgelinge te kry, terwyl Taylor ook brutale krag en die manipulasie van die jeug gebruik het. Hulle het beide internasionale diamante gesmokkel deur kriminele netwerke te gebruik. Die groot vi verskil is egter dat terwyl Taylor ‘n krygsheer in Sierra Leone was, was hy ook ‘n insurgent in Liberië, waar hy in 1990 mag gekry het en in 1997 president geword het. Savimbi, aan die ander kant, het nooit presidensiële mag verkry nie, alhoewel hy deelgeneem het aan die 1992 Angolese verkiesing. Hy het daarna opgehou om ‘n revolusionêr en ‘n rebel te wees en het ‘n ware krygsheer geword (sonder die eksterne ondersteuning wat hy voorheen gehad het). Savimbi is in 2002 vermoor en Taylor het in 2003 abdikeer. Taylor is tans onder verhoor in Den Haag waar hy tereg staan by die Internasionale Strafhof vir oorlogsmisdade en menseregteskendings in Sierra Leone. Beide hierdie krygshere se nalatenskap leef egter voort.

La manière dont le processus de construction étatique et nationale se déroule, influence le processus de développement d’un pays. Idéal type d’une construction imaginée, le Libéria et les Libériens ont été au centre de notre analyse. L’intérêt pour ce sujet découle :- de notre mécontentement vis-à-vis du postulat de l’inexistence sociologique de la nation libérienne et de la faiblesse du projet national Libéria énoncé par plusieurs auteurs mais aussi - de la méconnaissance par les élites nationales de leurs propres concitoyens, de leurs aspirations, peurs et espérances, soit des prérequis indispensables pour mettre en place un projet de construction nationale, étatique et de développement cohérent et inclusif. Nous avons voulu écouter le peuple et rapporter des sources primaires recueillies sur le terrain pour rendre compte sur ces processus tout en réalisant une analyse documentaire approfondie de la question. Au Libéria, après les années sombres des guerres civiles, la construction d'un nouveau type d'État démocratique et libéral, capable d'incorporer toutes les composantes nationales, s’appuyant sur une identité suprême partagée, a été prônée. Mais avant de reconstruire un pays, on doit solidifier la nation. L’ancienne conception d'État et de nation centralisée et limitative doit laisser place à une conception nouvelle intégrative et ouverte, basée sur l’histoire et le vécu de tous les Libériens. A travers cette étude, nous avons cherché à identifier, dans l’imaginaire individuel et collectif, qui sont les Libériens d’aujourd’hui ?Qu’est-ce être Libérien ?En observant, chez eux, l’absence ou la présence d’une adhésion au projet national libérien et ses facteurs explicatifs. Les réponses fournies par nos interlocuteurs seront utiles à tous ceux qui veulent travailler pour la réinvention du Libéria après l’époque du nationalisme ethnocentrique, de la destructrice et meurtrière guerre civile et du difficile démarrage national en après-conflit. La démocratisation du pays a été aussi porteuse d’un projet citoyen qui suppose des droits et des obligations. L’existence d’un fort sentiment d’identification et d’appartenance à un espace donné contribue au renforcement de la démocratie, avec une influence forte sur le développement du pays. L’expérience a montré que les nations se fortifient surtout dans un cadre démocratique et constitutionnel. L’analyse du contenu de la littérature géopolitique et sociale du pays nous a révélé comment l’identité nationale (que nous nommons ici « la libérianité ») s’était construite à <p>4 <p>travers les étapes historiques du pays et le résultat de notre enquête de terrain nous indique comment elle a évolué. Ensuite, nous avons établi le contour de la « libérianité » telle qu’elle est vécue et définie, aujourd’hui, par ceux qui s’identifient comme Libériens. Nous avons aussi constaté l’existence d’une adhésion à l’identité nationale libérienne et au projet national libérien, assumée par - et dont s’est appropriée - une majorité écrasante des individus, indépendamment de leurs identifications assumées ou assignées. Cette adhésion est moins due au facteur ethnique qu’à de facteurs historiques, culturels, linguistiques, sécuritaires, de reconnaissance et valorisation personnelles, d’inclusion et exclusion. L’identité nationale libérienne est définie à partir des référents historiques, culturels (traditions, danses, fêtes, chants, coutumes), linguistiques et sécuritaires, de reconnaissance et valorisation personnelles. L’adhésion au projet national libérien est soutenue par les éléments constitutifs de l’identité nationale libérienne. Pour les Libériens-mêmes, l’identité nationale libérienne est une identité légitimante, une identité duale, se basant sur une culture mixte (indigène et moderne), une langue commune (l’anglais libérien) et des éléments identitaires propres qui les distinguent des autres peuples (noms, coutumes, nourriture, danses, chants, vêtements, célébrations etc.). Cette identité est une identité projet, en réinvention continue. L’attachement à la terre commune, « maman Libéria », est sentimental et instrumental. Le projet national libérien est aujourd’hui - intégré parce qu’il exprime la symbiose entre l’âme indigène et des éléments allogènes, entre la tradition africaine propre à la Côte du Poivre (Côte du Poivre) et la modernité :il se base sur l’expérience historique commune. Viennent ensuite, les facteurs sécuritaires (valorisation et protection de leurs vies, propriétés), économiques et psychologiques qui sont mobilisés pour soutenir le projet politique. Nos interlocuteurs sont réalistes, le projet national et étatique actuel présente d’innombrables limites politiques, institutionnelles, culturelles, sociales et économiques mais y adhérer leur procure la seule possibilité de se mettre à l’abri de l’arbitraire de l’homme, d’écarter le spectre d’une nouvelle guerre civile, d’accéder à la citoyenneté porteuse de valorisation personnelle et collective et à une vie épanouissante et prospère. Notre étude, par la recherche documentaire, met aussi en évidence l’évolution du caractère et du contenu de l’idée nationale libérienne, les moments et les personnages y ayant travaillé pour façonner le Libéria et les Libériens depuis 1822 à nos jours. Le Libéria, le premier État indépendant d’Afrique, a toujours eu les caractéristiques de l’étatisme, il a existé sans cesse depuis sa création, en dépit de sa nature patrimoniale et prébende. État failli durant les deux guerres civiles, le Libéria d’après 2003 est en plein processus de <p>5 <p>reconstruction physique et symbolique. Par cette recherche, nous avons étudié l’État, la Nation et le développement du Libéria :plus précisément, la manière dont la mise en place de l’État libérien a influencé le développement de cet espace et le contenu de la nation libérienne, mais aussi la façon dont elle a été instrumentalisée, comment elle a évolué et influencé les processus étatique et de développement national. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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 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)

To date, few scholars have addressed the internal dynamics of transnational advocacy networks (TANs) and their impact on the production of international norms. The lack of research on the topic seems rather surprising at a time when constructivists produce literature on the significance of global civil society and the role networks play in processes of recruitment and collective identity construction (Crugel 1999; Keck and Sikkink 1998; Boli and Thomas 1999; Anheier et al. 2001; Taylor and Rupp 2001; Keane 2003; Bob 2005). I cover this gap by looking at how power struggles between the international and the local members of a TAN shape the implementation of international norms in post-conflict settings. The purpose of the thesis is twofold: firstly to contribute to a broader literature on global civil society and secondly, to propose a new, more dynamic account on the life-cycle of international norms. The campaign for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security presents an ideal case study. First, it is one of the most successful stories of global norm creation and diffusion thanks to the advocacy efforts of non-state actors. Second, it also shows a case of policy gridlock, where the international efforts to bettering the situation of women in non-Western settings through an implicit liberal normative teleology have shown their limits by the socializee’s formal acceptance of the framework and informal resistance to the dominant norm. Based on extensive fieldwork, my approach combines feminist research methodology (Bar On 1993; Devault 1990; Pillow 2003; Taylor 2000), with the reflexive approach advocated by qualitative researchers in post-colonial and post-structuralist studies (Said 1978; Butler 1990; Escobar 1995). I conducted 60 semi-structured interviews with women activists during 4 field visits in Bujumbura (Burundi) and Monrovia (Liberia) between 2012 and 2013. Following discourse analysis theory (Shepherd 2008; Hansen 2006) and using NViVo8, the interviews were systematically analysed with regard to the reasons they put forward to explain their engagement in the women’s movement and the type of rights they sought to accomplish. The research is conducted through a relational approach in which the interactions of agents are affected by 1) a diversity of structural opportunities through three mechanisms: brokerage, gatekeeping and diffusion and, 2) a compound of ideas forming the master-frame. Those two, in turn, modify interests and identities, both understood as outputs and not as variables determining the interactions of agents. I show how a certain discourse on gender security became accepted as the master frame of the campaign, and how other discourses were left out. That is, I show how discourses created boundaries and identities amongst actors, and how these actors used their agency to stretch those boundaries and identities in order to steer other activists to move towards certain behaviour. Building upon my empirical findings, the thesis sets out a theoretical model of identity boundaries stretching and adaptation in order to analyse the discursive construction of identity and subjectivity as political action. It develops the concept of rebound effect, that is, the point where the ideational boundaries between the thrower of the boomerang (issue entrepreneur) and the receiver (issue follower) are so impervious that the boomerang bounces back and never reaches its destination. I found out that norms based on a liberal peacebuilding approach such as UNSCR1325 are created and maintained by a failure to engage with local and grassroots movements (Richmond 2013). This, in turn, contributes to a process of de-legitimization of NGOs and local associations who form the TAN vis-à-vis the affected population. My findings have important implications for international relation theories of global governance and global activism since they provided a critique of the mainstream norm’s cascade model by introducing new temporalities and geographies in the analysis of the life-cycle of international norms. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The thesis poses the question of how one can stabilize a state through external intervention without destabilizing sovereignty. The study critically examines the justifications for international and regional interventions in the cases of Liberia and Burundi through a social constructivist framework. The main objective of the thesis is to enhance the understanding of how sovereignty is interpreted during non-aggressive interventions, both from a theoretical perspective through analysis of official discourses and from a practical perspective through interviews with external and internal actors in the field. The thesis argues that it may be more fruitful for future studies to question the aim of these interventions, rather than ask how to improve them. The study finds that rather than reinforce the sovereignty, these interventions neutralize states subject to external intervention in the sense that they become dependent on external capacity to maintain their stability, thereby maintaining peace and order in the international arena. The conclusion is that these interventions remain both controversial and paradoxical and the stated aim of reinforcing the state's sovereignty is questionable at best. / Doctorat en sciences politiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished