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.

This thesis examines the phenomenon of child-soldiering from a different perspective. It seeks to challenge, using a novel approach, earlier studies on the roles of former child-soldiers in post-war societies. It focuses on the subjectivity of young veterans, that is war veterans formerly associated with armed forces and groups as children during the 14-year gruesome civil war which bedevilled Liberia between 1989 and 2003. This civil war claimed roughly 250,000 lives, and saw the active participation of approximately 21,000 child-soldiers. This thesis departs from previous works which mostly painted an apocalyptic picture of young veterans, and explores the nexus between their self-agency, Foucauldian technologies of the self and their transformation in the post-war society. The majority of previous scholarly works which have dominated the field of child-soldiering dwelt on the impact of armed conflict on the child-soldiers, the negative consequences, the causes of child-soldiering, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of the young veterans after their disarmament and demobilization. What this thesis seeks to do however, is to establish that, rather than considering the young veterans simply as social misfits, distraught and dispirited human beings, it should be noted that young veterans through their agency, are capable of ensuring their reintegration into their war-ravaged societies. Sadly, these young former fighters’ self-agency and technologies of the self in defining their civilian trajectories have often been overshadowed by vaunted humanitarian aid and multilayered war-profiteering. This study is underpinned by interpretive constructivism, symbolic interactionism, social identity theory, sociometer theory and expectancy theory, and sheds light on how young veterans’ self-agency, instrumental coalitions, and decision-making processes, synergistically shifted the negative identities foisted on them as a result of their participation in the war.

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)