Thesis (MPhil (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / The primary goal of this thesis is to explore, analyse and apply the New War theory to the West African case of Sierra Leone. The motivation for conducting a study of this nature was that much literature exists on the assumption that the Sierra Leonean conflict equates to a resource war. This research project attempts to bridge the gap between the New War schools of thought and those who maintain a resource war approach. Although Kaldor’s (2006) work on New Wars is significant, she does not place much emphasis on Africa. In order to supplement this, William Reno (2001) and Paul Collier (2000) have also been studied. Both write about Africa. The RUF virtually razed the Sierra Leonean society to the ground. The overtly violent methods employed were dissimilar to the interstate and intrastate wars of the past. Blatant exploitation of the country’s mineral wealth aggravated the situation. In attempting to reach a relevant finding, this study is divided into distinctive sections. Chapter two documents the theoretical background. The writings of Kaldor (2006), Reno (2001) and Collier (2000) are explored and applied. The third chapter investigates the factors in the conflict. Issues such as the resource factor (diamonds) and poverty are discussed; the failed state in Sierra Leone; criminal networks; social conditions; arms; and the role of youth and children. The general finding of this chapter indicates that Sierra Leone fits this model. Chapter four describes and analyses the actors. Identity was not an issue in the Sierra Leone war; thus a large part of Kaldor’s theory becomes redundant. In the final assessment the study establishes what Sierra Leone’s position is: New War or merely resource war? The bulk of the applied theory proved to be applicable to this case; but the study also acknowledges the mistaken views regarding Kaldor’s identity theories. Collier and Reno’s works prove to be significantly more relevant. This study was able to determine that Sierra Leone was indeed an example of New Wars, albeit considerably affected and influenced by greed.

No description available.

This research examines faith-based mediators and their usage of mediation strategies, in relation to durability of peace agreements and it is guided by the following research question; Why do some faith-based mediators succeed to aid the creation of durable peace, while others do not? In order to find an answer to this question a hypothesis, suggesting that faith-based mediators applying the fostering, rather than the forcing, strategy will be more successful, is tested. This hypothesis mirrors the causal logic, suggesting that faith-based mediators have the potential to contribute to the creation of durable peace agreements, through the usage of facilitative and formulative techniques. The methodological design makes use of tools provided by Mills Method of Difference and Structured Focused Comparison. These tools aid the analysis of faith-based mediation in Uganda and Sierra Leone. The findings indicate that the application of the fostering strategy has a positive effect in relation to the process of creating durable peace agreements. However, this positive effect comes with one condition, the faith-based mediators have to be influential in relation to the peace process.

On 10 September 2000, the British Special Forces conducted Operation Barras that aimed to free seven soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment held hostage by a guerrilla group during the civil war in Sierra Leone. The problem that the study aims to explain is if the tactical execution was significant in the success of the operation and, if so, what was successful. The purpose of this study is to explain what made Operation Barras successful by studying its tactical execution. To do this, the principles of speed and surprise from McRavens theory of relative superiority have been used to conduct a qualitative case study. The results of the survey show that the principles are used and that they contributed to the success of the tactical execution. It was primarily the principle of surprise that could explain why the execution was successful. The principle of speed was used in the initial stage but this declined because of a strong-willed opponent. Those principles provide two perspectives on studying the operation and its complexity. The study can fill part of the gap found in research on what it was that made operation Barras successful and contribute to further understanding within the area of special operations.

This thesis sets out to explore the processes of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of female ex-combatants in Sierra Leone within the context of post-conflict peace building. International and local stakeholders including the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilisation Reintegration (NCDDR) and World Bank were responsible for DDR. The DDR of female adult combatants and girl soldiers was essential as part of the broader strategies to prevent the reoccurrence of violence and creating conditions for sustainable peace and development. It was aimed at transforming female ex-combatants into a civilian status congruent with peace after eleven years of horrific civil war in Sierra Leone that involved rebel forces, principally the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), and the government‘s Civil Defence Forces (CDF). The DDR process has been criticized in that female ex-combatants were often invisible and their needs disregarded. This study investigates the role of women in post-conflict peace building efforts, specifically DDR in Sierra Leone. Its nub is to critically assess the design, implementation and impact of the DDR of female ex-combatants. It focuses particularly on how female combatants are affected by current gender, security and international relations discourses. It assesses the progress made by the relevant international and local institutions in implementing international policies and guidelines on the DDR of female ex-combatants, in Sierra Leone; draws wider conclusions about achievements made and suggests lessons that may be applicable widely.

The sasswood ordeal of poison presents a divinatory ritual which has been used in criminal cases by the traditional African of Sierra Leone and Liberia. For at least six hundred years, the peoples of these present countries have imposed this strictest of ordeals on their moral transgressors; and the practice has survived, despite the protestations of nineteenth-century missionaries and the encroachment of the western world. The investigation of the historical evidence of the sasswood ordeal among the West Atlantic tribes of Africa has three basic purposes. First, because of the paucity of interpretive data on the sasswood ordeal, the primary purpose of the thesis has been to more clearly delineate the meaning, characteristics, and functions of this poison ordeal as well as the swearing of oaths among the peoples of Sierra Leone and Liberia by amalgamating historical and more contemporaneous evidence. To this end, the distribution of the ordeal was considered; and descriptions were made of the various characteristics of the trait--complex--the poison’s action, the ritual and ceremonial aspects, the sasswood specialist, the accusations made in connection with the ordeal as well as indigenous myths of origin of the ordeal. Intracultural correlations were then presented to demonstrate the interdigitation of the elements in a culture in relation to the ordeal. Finally, some functions, other than the obvious guilt-determining aspect, were presented to demonstrate the various ways in which it had been used historically. A second purpose of this thesis was to demonstrate the intrinsically conservative: qualities of the ordeal as an aspect of religion and law. By assessing the impact of specific historical influences in the region of the West Atlantic tribes, such as Islam, colonialism, slavery, and urbanization, it was shown that no significant change had been witnessed through the six-hundred-year period of the historical record. In concluding this aspect, it was noted that certain "weaknesses" in the historical record—such as its being "piecemeal" and recorded only infrequently--caused problems in interpreting what appeared to be an intrinsically conservative nature of the sasswood ordeal. A third purpose, related to the second, was the application and assessment of "ethnohistoriographic" techniques, that is, those specific methods of historical scholarship utilized by the ethnographer in investigating past cultures. The limits of the use of the ethnohistoriographic techniques included observational bias (which was readily accountable, dealing as it did with hyperbole), the preoccupation with "sensational" data (which provided disparities, over-emphases in the historical record), as well as political motivations such that national prejudice frequently determined the "interpretation" placed on the ordeal. In addition, it was noted that because the sasswood ordeal may be classified as "esoterica," the record for this practice was generally spotty; and this fact affected interpretations on the actual change manifested in the trait complex. The main contribution made by this study has been to afford future readers with a composite and relatively complete source of information on one specific type of poison ordeal practiced among the West Atlantic tribes of Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Over recent decades, civil wars in Africa have taken millions of lives and caused widespread destruction of whole states and regions. The living standards of peoples residing in such states in Africa which have been devastated by war are often deplorable, with violence, disease and poverty characterising life there. Lawlessness is another feature of such wars, making these states optimal places for international terrorist groups to operate in, and from. For both the above reasons, the West should not turn a blind eye to this issue. These wars that have occurred in a number of African states, including Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan, have often become regionalised with surrounding states increasingly becoming involved. This is particularly the case when economic gain can be sought through involvement in the civil war. The introduction of regional actors into domestic civil wars frequently serves to intensify and prolong the conflict, through an increase of arms and troops entering the fighting. The surrounding state actors largely claim to be involved for political reasons, namely to provide security to their own state. However, numerous credible reports have shown that vast plundering of natural resources has been carried out in war-time by surrounding states in the war-torn state. Consequently, this thesis examines the motives of surrounding state actors when deciding to participate in domestic civil wars of their neighbours. To do this, I compile case studies on both Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo since both states had been ravaged by violent and drawn-out civil wars involving regional actors. Furthermore, the regional actors in both cases (Liberia in Sierra Leone, and particularly Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe in the DRC) have been accused of participating in the wars for economic gain. The case studies showed that while political motivations largely drive the initial decision by regional actors to participate in civil wars in their region, it is subsequently economic gain that both allows and compels them to continue their involvement in the civil war. Henceforth, in the final chapter, I put investigate policy suggestions for the future including: prevention of resources being used to fuel warfare through controlling their access to legitimate channels; the use of aid to reduce the likelihood of those in poverty turning to war in pursuit of sustenance, including opportunities to target aid and use compliance with particular peace agreements as a prerequisite for attaining the funding; diversification of the economies of these weak states through development assistance to reduce risks produced by a high dependency on primary commodity exports for income and financial sanctions in the form of freezing of assets or asset blocking. These policy suggestions seek to address both the political and economic motivations of the surrounding state actors in participating in civil wars in Africa.

Le nombre de 300 000 enfants utilisés comme combattants est un chiffre conservateur que les experts du milieu ont mis de l'avant pour assurer un plus grand consensus international sur l'urgence d'intervenir. Ce chiffre, qui demeure constant depuis le milieu des années 1990, cache en réalité un nombre cumulé encore plus inquiétant. Lors des conflits, les enfants tués, blessés, qui réussissent à s'enfuir ou qui atteignent leur majorité sont remplacés systématiquement par d'autres ce qui fait que le nombre réel est, en fin de compte, beaucoup plus élevé. L'objectif de cette recherche est d'identifier les faiblesses du système international qui permettent encore aujourd'hui que l'enfance soit massacrée. Elle questionne l'existence d'une réelle protection des enfants pendant les conflits pour éviter leur enrôlement par des groupes armés en examinant des instruments juridiques internationaux. À la lumière d'une étude de cas effectuée en Sierra Leone à l'été 2005, l'auteure expose les défaillances de la protection accordée aux enfants combattants en période de post-conflit, notamment issues de la des mécanismes de réconciliation ainsi que lors de la provision des volets des programmes de Désarmement, de Démobilisation et de Réinsertion (DDR) s'adressant spécifiquement aux enfants anciens combattants. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Enfants combattants, Enfants soldats, Droit international, Droits des enfants, Protection, Sécurité humaine, Conflits, DDR et Sierra Leone.

<p>Abstract</p><p>Sierra Leone is a very poor country in Africa. Botswana is another country, that has a similar history and the same deposit; diamonds. Botswana has reached economic growth and democracy and Sierra Leone has not.</p><p>The purpose with this study is to explain why Botswana is more democratic and has reached a better result economic than Sierra Leone.</p><p>The questions in this study are:</p><p>What explains the democratic and the economic results in Sierra Leone and Botswana?</p><p>* Dahl’s institutions that furthers a polyarchy?</p><p>* Gunnarsson’s and Rojas’ institutional explanations?</p><p>* Diamond’s and Morlino’s ”rule of law”?</p><p>* Other explanations or a combination of the above-mentioned explanations?</p><p>The method that has been used in this study is a comparative case study with a qualitative contents analysis. The result is that it’s hard to say that one explanation is the right one. It’s more likely a combination of multiple factors that furthers democracy and economic development. Not just one combination is the right one, but the institutional explanation about the autonomy of the state is very important for the result.</p>

Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-134).