Journal articles on the topic 'Liberia Civil War, 1989-'

The Liberian civil wars spanned fourteen years, from 1989 to 2003. It is estimated that during this time over 250,000 people were killed and more than 1,000,000 were displaced. The wars were covered regularly in American news. Reports characteristically represented the child militias, human sacrifices, and crazed army tactics, including but not limited to soldiers cross-dressing or using nudity as methods of intimidation. Initially, little attention was offered to the greater social and political implications of the war, but recent news coverage and critical research has demanded a change in the way that the civil wars were viewed and addressed, internally and internationally.The first Liberian civil war was led by the conflicting political factions of Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor. These men were backed largely by members of different groups, divided by existing ethnic tensions. These factions divided further as the war progressed, and the war continued long after Doe's assassination in 1990 and his party's defeat.

The Liberian civil wars spanned fourteen years, from 1989 to 2003. It is estimated that during this time over 250,000 people were killed and more than 1,000,000 were displaced. The wars were covered regularly in American news. Reports characteristically represented the child militias, human sacrifices, and crazed army tactics, including but not limited to soldiers cross-dressing or using nudity as methods of intimidation. Initially, little attention was offered to the greater social and political implications of the war, but recent news coverage and critical research has demanded a change in the way that the civil wars were viewed and addressed, internally and internationally.The first Liberian civil war was led by the conflicting political factions of Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor. These men were backed largely by members of different groups, divided by existing ethnic tensions. These factions divided further as the war progressed, and the war continued long after Doe's assassination in 1990 and his party's defeat.

The civil war in Liberia began in 1989, when the country was attacked by the rebels of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor. In Sierra Leone the civil war was initiated in 1991 by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) led by Foday Sankoh. The article describes the specifics of the conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone. It discusses social and economic context of the wars as well as causes of their longevity. In addition, it presents the international community actions for ending the prolonged civil war in Sierra Leone and the importance of the policy “weapon for diamonds”. The article uses a historical-analytical method of research.

The brutal civil war that engulfed Liberia, following Charles Taylor's invasion in December 1989, has left an indelible mark in the history of this West African state. The six-year old struggle led to the collapse of what was already an embattled economy; to the almost complete destruction of physical infrastructure built over a century and half of enterprise and oligarchic rule; to the killing, maiming, and displacement of more than 50 per cent of the country's estimated pre-war population of 2·5 million; and to an unprecedented regional initiative to help resolve the crisis. Five years after the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) intervened with a Cease-fire Monitoring Group (Ecomog), an agreement that was quickly hailed as the best chance for peace in Liberia was signed in August 1995 in the Nigeriancapital, Abuja.

This article investigates if the adoption of the Liberian Freedom of Information (FOI) law 2010 has led to a transparent government and increased the free flow of government information. Freeing government information is expected to create transparent and accountable governments. It brings forth democratic and inclusive government institutions that work for the people. Inclusivity, transparency and accountability are expected to address sustainable development challenges and democracy deficits. Transparency and accountability can only be achieved through access to government information. The right to access government information is also included in the national constitution of Liberia. The citizens of Liberia in West Africa suffered from a protracted civil war between 1989–1996 and 1999–2003 respectively. These wars were partly caused by non-accountability of the governments, endemic corruption and the mismanagement of the countries’ resources. Efforts are being made by the government with the help of the international community to embrace a new democratic dispensation. Liberia was also one of the first African countries to enact a Freedom of Information (FOI) Law that would enable Liberians to access government information.

The aim of the paper is to try to determine the essence of the new face of armed conflict. Liberia is the main point of reference in the analysis for two reasons. Firstly, Liberia is the oldest independent republic on the African continent and its establishing is linked to paradoxical events begun in 1821, when black people settling in the vicinity of Monrovia, former slaves liberated from South American cotton plantations, reconstructed a slave-like type of society, taking local, poorly organised tribes as their subjects. Secondly, Liberia proves that the intensity of changes in armed conflict does not have to be strictly dependent on the size of the land: a country of small geographical size can equal or even exceed countries with several times larger surface in terms of features of “new wars”. In 1989 in Liberia, the nine-year presidency of Samuel Doe, characterised by exceptional ineptitude and bloody terror, led to the outbreak of clashes between government forces and the opposition from National Patriotic Front of Liberia, led by Charles Taylor. Thus, the first civil war in Liberia was begun, that lasted until 1997 and became an arena of mass violations of human rights, leaving behind 150,000 dead victims and about 850,000 refugees to neighbouring countries.

For more than two decades, the Mano River Basin was trapped in a spiral of violent civil wars at the centre of which were the region’s youth. However, in spite of the similarities in contexts, and despite its history and external attacks by insurgency groups based in Liberia and Sierra Leone, Guinea did not degenerate into a civil war. The immediate question then is, what factors might have been responsible at that time for mitigating the potential involvement of the country’s youth in a civil war, and can the lessons learned from Guinea be emulated in conflict-affected countries today? This article provides in-depth perspectives into the Guinean youth and the factors that mitigated their involvement in violent insurrections against the state from 1989 to 2011. It also juxtaposes the findings on Guinea with conclusions on factors responsible for involvement of youth in the civil wars in other countries in the region.

The First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996), in which Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) waged an ultimately successful military campaign to depose President Samuel Doe, was characterized by widespread atrocities. During this period, Agnes Reeves Taylor, known as “The Mother of the Revolution” and at the time Charles Taylor's wife, allegedly committed multiple acts of torture in her capacity as a high-ranking member of the NPFL. After moving to the United Kingdom, Agnes Taylor was charged in 2017 with seven counts of torture and one of conspiracy to commit torture under Section 134 of the UK Criminal Justice Act 1988 (CJA), which domesticates aspects of the UN Convention Against Torture 1984 (CAT) and asserts universal jurisdiction over torture. During the prosecution, a question over a key definitional element of the crime was appealed to the UK Supreme Court (Supreme Court): whether nonstate actors could be liable under the statute, which requires that torture be carried out by a “public official or person acting in an official capacity” (para. 14). The Court gave a qualified answer in the affirmative, holding that this definition includes individuals acting for a nonstate body that exercises control over territory and carries out governmental functions in this territory. As the first apex court decision extending liability for torture to de facto authorities, the Supreme Court decision is likely to have significant jurisprudential influence well beyond the United Kingdom.

The Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, as an ideologised and mythologised event, has been and is still used instrumentally within the Polish public discourse. The war was an important subject for the Polish press in the years 1936–1939. The Catholic, national-democratic, and conservative press supported General Franco’s rebellion. The governmental and pro-government press also supported the rebels. The Christian-democratic and peasants’ party press remained neutral. The social demo­cratic, communist, and radical press backed the Spanish Republic — as did liberal-conservative organs such as Wiadomości Literackie. After the Second World War, the Polish communist media created the positive legend of Polish participants in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades, label­ling Franco’s post-war regime fascist. In contemporary Poland, the same division within the Polish political scene as in 1936–1939 can be observed. Starting in 1990, the Spanish Civil War, as a subject of the Polish political discourse, has been the source of heated disputes, whose participants often present more radical views and narratives. The key issues that entered the canon of Polish political disputes after 1989 the International Brigades of volunteers, religious crimes, the support of fascists and communists for opposite sides of the conflict, are concentrated along the lines of the dispute arising from the debate within pre-war Poland: the clash of the traditional, Catholic world with the communist revolution.

The paper examines hyper-masculinity in West African war literature. Masculinity, hegemonic masculinity, and hyper-masculinity are all recurrent themes in Social Sciences and other fields of study but not so much in Literature. The disparity between the war history of West Africa, the few literary works on conflicts in West Africa, and the dearth of literary studies on Africa’s war literature underscore this study. Elma Shaw’s Redemption Road is one of the very few war novels on Liberia’s civil war that spanned from 1989 to 2003 and cost the lives of over 250,000 people. Through the frameworks of postcolonialism and hypermasculinity, this paper analyses hypermasculinity and gender relations in Shaw’s post-colonial war novel. The geopolitical struggles of the post-colony, the emblematic dichotomies of feminine and masculine, and their implications on gender relations in war discourse are centralized. The study demonstrates that faulty childhood context, faulty governance, poor coping strategies, and the fear-loaded cultural oppression of males to show manliness culminate in the trials of men in this fictional post-colonial Liberia. These tensions exacerbate the chaos of war as they render the conflict setting a ripe fodder for violent gender relations. They also engender the inexplicability of femininity in masculinity discourses for the only reason that females are the litmus for the test and measurement of masculinity in many patriarchal cultures as demonstrated in the novel. Thus, the paper reveals insights into why male characters become hyper-masculine in the novel. This revelation facilitates a better understanding of gender issues in war contexts. The conclusion to the discourse is that in fictional war-torn Liberia, excessive masculinity is not a masculine nomenclature but a colonially influenced gender coping parading that has lasting negative implications on gender relations.

AbstractDuring the Liberian civil war (1989-97), many participants, as well as local journalists, used terms such as 'sorcery', 'witchcraft', 'voodoo', 'juju' and 'African science' to describe certain techniques used by fighters. Essentially, these words were applied to techniques of offence or defence which were rooted in local religious traditions rather than in either Islam or Christianity. This article traces the history of such terms, as well as of the activities which they designate, to show how they changed during the twentieth century.

In this article we analyse theoretical contribution to critical analysis of political system of socialist Yugoslavia by (1934-2015), professor of Political Science at University of Zagreb. The article focesses on his writings during the socialist period (before 1989). Of 10 books he published during his life, five are relevant for the topic of this paper: Interest Groups and Political Power (1973), Work and Politics (1978), Pluralism of Interests and Self-Managing Democracy (1982), System and Crisis (1984) and Challenges of Democracy (1990). We also refer to the book of his interviews and articles, which was published after his death. In is writings Miric gave interesting and relevant contribution to Marxist Political Science, both in terms of his theoretical work and in his analysis of Yugoslav Political System. In later period, from 1989 onwards, he evolves towards Liberalism, but remains highly critical towards the objects of his analysis. Critical thinking remained a continuity in his writings and public appearences, in both his Marxist and Liberal phases. His articles on the origins of the crisis of Yugoslav Political System were in fact warnings that Yugoslavia could collapse, largely due to its own internal structure and the lack of trust between various segments of its political elites. In this sense, Miric?s work justifies the question of predictability of events that soon led to collapse of socialism and of Yugoslavia as state. Miric already in 1987 mentions civil war as one of possible outcomes of the Yugoslav crisis. His work challenges conclusion that 1989 in Europe and 1991 in former Yugoslavia were completely unpredictable, and that these moments were (two) Black Fridays in social and political sciences.

This article focuses on the years 1982–1984, which witnessed the first systematic effort to establish a moderate right-wing youth organization in Greece during the Cold War. It shows that the invention of the political songs of the Liberal youth ONNED underpinned its mass mobilization in 1982–1984. In this vein, our analysis enriches recent historiographical approaches that focus on cultures of Conservatism and on political and cultural changes in post-authoritarian Southern Europe in the 1970s to 1980s. Those political songs were linked to both the rhetoric and the practices of ONNED cadres and members. Their lyrics conveyed anti-Communist post-memories of the Civil War in Greece (1943/1946–1949), as reconfigured and filtered through the experiences of ONNED cadres and members in the aftermath of the 1967–1974 dictatorship and the electoral victory of the Socialists in 1981. Thus, the study of the Liberal youth complements the analysis of moderate right-wing subjects in Spain, for whom the Civil War was no reference point after democracy was restored in 1975. Simultaneously, the article enriches research on the Greek Liberal youth so far, which has neglected how this subject reconfigured its approach to the Greek Civil War in comparison to the Right in the preceding decades. Our article also shows that the songs under study accompanied a wide range of ritualistic and prosaic practices of ONNED cadres and members. Listening to and singing those songs was part of a double demarcation process between ONNED cadres and members and their left-wing opponents, as well as within ONNED. For instance, in Thessaloniki, the more Conservative members embraced those songs in their leisure activities and their everyday spaces. By contrast, the more centre-right members were more critical, but still tolerated such music. The everyday life and spatial history approach is crucial to illuminating the varying reception of the political songs of ONNED within this organization.

Contrary to the common belief, the Fifth Republic could not be established as a Republican monarchy. In France the idea of a republic was created by the French Revolution and its values were shaped in the fundamental confrontation with the monarchist tradition. The specifically understood idea of a nation’s sovereignty the formation of which was influenced by Rousseau’s though, as well as the ideas of the indivisibility and lay character of the republic, constituted a completely new model of statehood. In such a situation, the synthesis of antagonistic traditions was not possible. Although de Gaulle had been brought up in a family of pro-monarchist attitudes, he followed the state patriotism idea and was a supporter of the Republic as a durable basis for France’s existence. His views matured under the influence of French Republican nationalists Charles a Peguy and Maurice Barres, who inspired young de Gaulle and shaped his state patriotism. Later in his life de Gaulle’s idea was not so much to reconcile the monarchist and the republican tradition, but to create a republic that would integrate different families of ideas. This concept was also induced by manner of understanding the role of Christian obligations due to the public sphere. Following the spirit of the Catholic-liberal “Correspondent” de Gaulle believed that in the world shaped by the Revolution’s heritage Christian ideas do not need to be deemed to be defeated. During World War II, de Gaulle, then the leader of Free France, consistently strengthened the French Republican tradition in the Vichy dispute. In the years 1944-1946, as head of the temporary government, he made sure that Republican principles constituted the foundations of the post-war France. De Gaulle developed the state model of economy and the social character of the French republic. His decisions laid the Republican principles in the French Constitution and refer clearly to the Declaration of Human and Civil Rights of 1989 in both French post war constitutions. That is why the 5th Republic could only be established as an institutional variation within the framework of the Republican axiology.

The article reveals the professional biography of Academician Alexander Dynkin, a prominent researcher of contemporary world economy and international relations, the seventh director of IMEMO. He has become the first representative of the post-war generation at the head of the Institute. His civic position is characterized by patriotism with adherence to democratic principles and liberal values. The son of a famous Soviet aircraft engine designer, A. Dynkin planned to continue his father’s career. After completing his studies at the prestigious Moscow Aviation Institute, Dynkin was included in the group of engineers engaged in the development of a project for manned flights to the Moon. When this project was unexpectedly closed at the beginning of 1972, Alexander Dynkin decided to change his profession. He passed the competition for the postgraduate study at IMEMO, where he prepared and in 1976 defended his first dissertation on the topic: “Economic Factors in the Creation and Operation of Civil Aviation Equipment in the United States”. Since that time, his life has become forever linked with IMEMO, where he has grown an outstanding researcher in the economic aspect of modern scientific and technological progress. In 1989, A. Dynkin successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic: “A New Stage of the Scientific and Technological Revolution in the Capitalist Economy: Economic Content and Implementation Mechanism” at the Academic Council of IMEMO. The problematics, which Alexander Dynkin dealt with, were of particular relevance for the Soviet planned economy which was experiencing deep stagnation. Dynkin and his colleagues tried to find out means of overcoming this stagnation by accelerating scientific and technological progress; they looked for opportunities to adapt the Western experience in this area to Soviet economic realities. In the post-Soviet period, high professional qualities of Alexander Dynkin found a worthy application in economic practice. In 1998, he was invited as an economic advisor to Evgeny Primakov, the Prime Minister of Russia. Having returned to IMEMO a year later, Dynkin continued his scientific research and became an internationally recognized authority in world economy issues. Alexander Dynkin as a researcher has always combined fundamental and applied problems. The development of theoretical and practical aspects of the competitiveness of Russian economy, its integration into the world economy have been an important part of his activities. A. Dynkin proved himself to be not only a prominent researcher, but also an experienced organizer of the research process. Since 1989, he was Deputy Director of IMEMO, and in 2006 he was appointed as a Director of the Institute, which he successfully headed for ten years. Afterwards he became the President of IMEMO. Under his leadership, the Institute has confirmed its status as one of the world’s leading think tanks in the field of contemporary world economy and international relations studies.

Francoism was the product of the sum of all the heterogeneous forces of anti-liberal right, from the most radical fascists to Christian traditionalists even further to the conservative right than the Monarchists and the Carlists, and as a result their architectural response to the problem of rebuilding Spanish society following the Civil war could not be unitary either. Each school of thought, each situation to be solved, and each architect generated a different solution, and as a result we find a wide variety of architectural works in Francoist Spain. Rather than revisit the topics studied in multiple works since the seventies, this article will focus the research on typologies that have hardly received any attention, namely constructions of marked ideological and propagandistic character, such as the monolithic monuments dedicated to the Fallen, the reconstructions of ‘mythological’ places for the discourse of the first Francoism, and the production of monumental civic buildings, such as the Universities of Labor. The core issue to be resolved is whether some cultural discourses under Francoism constructed the new regime as pioneering a modernizing national revolution, rather than installing a reactionary counterrevolution, and whether the architectural works that resulted in fact present outstanding elements of modernity that had nothing to envy, in their physical scale, radicalism of design, and futural temporality, those of National Socialist Germany or Mussolini’s Italy. Such a kinship suggests that many buildings of right wing regimes, at least in Spain, in the first half of the twentieth century should be considered as belonging organically to the fascist era, even if the regimes that promoted or hosted them were not technically fascist in a strict political and ideological sense, a kinship expressed in their ‘rooted modernism’.

Liberia has become the quintessential example of an African failed state. Though Liberia's civil war is officially over, war criminals are free and some are even helping run the transitional government under the authority of Liberia's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). This peace agreement calls for the consideration of a general amnesty for those involved in the Liberian civil war alongside the parceling of governmental functions among members of various rebel groups. The drafters of the agreement claim that this was the only viable solution for sustainable peace in Liberia. Meanwhile, Charles Taylor relaxes in Nigeria's resort city of Calabar.

The article touches upon the problems associated with the creation and liquidation of one of the many state entities of the era of revolution and Civil War in the North Caucasus. The liberal-nationalist project resulted in the creation and existence in the region during 1918-1919 the Moun-tain Republic. On the one hand, he ideologically opposed the Bolshevik project in the form of the Terek Soviet Republic as part of the North Caucasian Soviet Socialist Republic, on the other, the White Guard Terek-Dagestan region of the Armed Forces of Southern Russia. The reasons the mountain statehood could not resist stronger rivals are shown. Conclusions are drawn that this project could not exist without external support, and inside it did not have sufficient support. Some argue the experience of the Mountain Republic was not in vain and was used by the Bolshe-viks who won in 1920 to create their own form of statehood for the peoples of the North Caucasus during 1921-1924.

The national archives of Liberia - Africa's oldest republic - are in parlous condition. Mostly this is the result of the on/off war that has wracked the country since 1989.Liberia's national archives used to be housed in their own building, but this was vandalised in the first period of the war, in 1990. Some 40 percent of the records were destroyed at that time. The remainder were bundled into cardboard boxes, plastic bags, and any other available receptacle and moved to another building. This, however, was subsequently used as a barracks for Nigerian peacekeeping troops who did not always treat the archives with the respect they deserved. The records were moved again, apparently in 1993, this time to a small building in the middle of Monrovia that also houses the National Library, although the latter has few books and is also in poor condition.

Integration of faith and learning practitioners must be able to develop an integrated curriculum which includes the focused, intentional and targeted integration approach as recommended in this paper. The integration should include various aspects like the programs of studies, the lesson plans and the evaluation of learning activities. Furthermore, the integrated curriculum should be designed to include faith aspects in learning through intra-disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approaches. The paper further expounds on the meaning and significance of an integrated curriculum for Christian educators. The case is post-civil war Liberia and the major question of the paper is, how can an integrated curriculum bridge the gap of the missing link of faith integration in curriculum development in Liberia? Consequently, a proposed model is provided for Christian education stakeholders in Liberia. The model can be applicable across Christian educators worldwide.

Desde el 6 de abril de 1996, el conflicto de Liberia ha experimentado nuevamente un vuelco dramático, por lo que cabe temer las peores dificultades para la supervivencia de la población civil. Una vez más, el CICR deplora y condena las graves y sistemáticas violaciones de las normas fundamentales del derecho internacional humanitario y de los principios mínimos de humanidad, perpetradas desde que comenzó el conflicto, en diciembre de 1989.Desde hace seis años y medio, las personas civiles, los heridos, los contendientes fuera de combate y los prisioneros son frecuentemente víctimas de matanzas, torturas, mutilaciones, toma de rehenes, trabajos forzados, pillaje, destrucción de bienes y desplazamientos forzosos. Se enrola a niños en grupos armados e incluso no se respeta la paz de los muertos.

AbstractThe issue of post-conflict elections has become one of the major areas in both the scholarly literature and in policy circles. This is because post-conflict elections are considered critical to the peacebuilding process in war-torn societies. The rationale is that post-conflict elections can be used to address the vexing problem of choosing the leadership for states recovering from war. With the leadership chosen in the context of free, fair and transparent elections, it can then shepherd the arduous process of rebuilding the society. In this vein, using the first post-conflict election in Liberia as a case study, this article examines the electoral landscape, and the factors that led to the Taylor-led National Patriotic Party (NPP) winning a landslide victory.

The modern human rights movement, as it is known today, is largely the product of the horrors of the mainly European war of 1939-45. Its rise is mostly a direct result of the abominations committed by the Third Reich during that war. Drawing on the Western liberal tradition, the human rights movement arose primarily to control and contain state action against the individual. The two principal documents of the movement—the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—largely establish negative rights that either limit or prohibit altogether government intrusion into the so-called “private realm.”

The material is a publication of an annotated excerpt from the memoirs of General Pyotr Semyonovich Makhrov about the events of the Civil War in Ukraine from the autumn of 1918 to the winter of 1919. The manuscript of Makhrov’s memoirs is kept in the Bakhmetev archive of Columbia University in the USA. This valuable testimony of an informed contemporary of crucial historical events is an important source on the history of the First World War, the Civil War in Russia and Ukraine, and Russian mili- tary emigration, and covers the period from the late nineteenth century to the fi rst half of the twentieth century. Makhrov was an offi cer of the Russian army, a graduate of the Nicholas General Staff Academy, a man of liberal views, and brilliantly wielded a pen. In 1918, Makhrov lived in Ukraine in Poltava and was an eyewitness to a series of sig- nifi cant events, including several changes of power. The memoir covers in detail the life of Ukraine under Hetman Pavlo P. Skoropadsky, the German occupation, the anti-Hetman uprising, the fall of the Hetmanate, the rampant ataman, and the establishment of the power of the Directory of Ukrainian People’s Republic in late 1918. The memoirs represent the view of a military man who was critical of the new Ukrainian state and was focused on the ideology of the White movement. Much attention is paid to the be- haviour of offi cers in the varied conditions of independent Ukraine and in its collapse.

RESUMEN:El objetivo del artículo es aproximarnos a la controvertida biografía del comisario Manuel Brabo Portillo. El trabajo está basado en fuentes primarias y secundarias. El método utilizado es empírico. En el imaginario del mundo sindicalista revolucionario, Brabo Portillo era el policía más odiado, la reencarnación de la cara más turbia del Estado. Fue, así mismo, un espía alemán relacionado con el hundimiento de barcos españoles, el asesinato del empresario e ingeniero Barret y el primer jefe de los terroristas vinculados a la patronal barcelonesa. La conflictividad que afectó a España en el período de la Primera Guerra Mundial es fundamental para entender los orígenes del terrorismo vinculado al pistolerismo, que marcó la historia político social española del primer tercio del siglo XX.PALABRAS CLAVE: Brabo Portillo, pistolerismo, espionaje, sindicalismo, Primera Guerra Mundial.ABSTRACT:The objective of the article is an approach to the controversial biography of Police Chief Manuel Brabo Portillo. The work is based on primary and secondary sources. The method used is empirical. In the imagery of the revolutionary syndicalist world, Brabo Portillo was the most hated policeman, the reincarnation of the murkiest face of the state. He was also a German spy connected with the sinking of Spanish ships, the murder of businessman and engineer Josep Barret and the first head of the terrorists linked to Barcelona employers. The conflict that affected Spain during the period of the First World War is fundamental in order to understand the origins of terrorism linked to pistolerismo, which marked Spanish social political history during the first third of the twentieth century.KEY WORDS: Brabo Portillo, pistolerismo, espionage, syndicalism, First World War. BIBLIOGRAFÍAAisa, M., La efervescencia social de los años 20. Barcelona 1917-1923, Barcelona, Descontrol, 2016.Aguirre de Cárcer, N., La neutralidad de España durante la Primera Guerra Mundial (1914-1918). I. Bélgica, Madrid, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, 1995.Alonso, G., “’Afectos caprichosos’: Tradicionalismo y germanofilia en España durante la Gran Guerra”, Hispania Nova, 15, 2017, pp. 394-415.Amador, A., El Terror blanco en Barcelona. Las bombas y los atentados personales. Actuación infernal de una banda de asesinos al servicio de la burguesía. El asesinato como una industria, Tarragona, Talleres gráf. Gutenberg, [1920?].Anglés, C., “Contra los sindicatos. Los procesos de la organización obrera. La impostura nunca ha sido justicia”, Solidaridad Obrera, 836 (1/8/1918), p. 1.Balcells, A., El Pistolerisme. Barcelona (1917-1923), Barcelona, Pòrtic, 2009.Ben-Ami, S., La Dictadura de Primo de Rivera (1923-1930), Barcelona, Planeta, 1984.Bengoechea, S., Organització patronal i conflictivitat social a Catalunya. Tradició i corporativisme entre finals de segle i la dictadura de Primo de Rivera, Barcelona, PAM, 1994.Bengoechea, S., El locaut de Barcelona (1919-1920), Barcelona, Curial, 1998.Bengoechea, S., “1919: La Barcelona colpista. L’aliança de patrons i militars contra el sistema liberal”, Afers, 23/24 (1996), pp. 309-327.Brabo Portillo, M., Ensayo sobre policía científica, Barcelona, Gassó Hermanos, [190?].Bravo Portillo, M. y Samper, A., Programa para los exámenes de ingreso ó ascenso en plazas de oficiales de cuarta clase de la Hacienda Pública, Madrid, Mateu, 1906.Bueso, A., Recuerdos de un cenetista, Barcelona, Ariel, 1976.Burgos y Mazo, M. de, El verano de 1919 en Gobernación, Imprenta de E. Pinós-Cuenca, 1921.Calderón, F. de P. [Rico Ariza, E.] y Romero, I., Memorias de un terrorista. Novela episódica de la tragedia barcelonesa, Barcelona, [s.e.], [1924?].Carden, R. M., German Policy Toward Neutral Spain, 1914-1918, London, Routledge, 2014.Cardona, G., Los Milans del Bosch, una familia de armas tomar. Entre la revolución liberal y el franquismo, Barcelona, Edhasa, 2005.Casal Gómez, M., La Banda Negra. El origen y la actuación de los pistoleros en Barcelona (1918-1921), 2ª. Edición, Barcelona, Icaria, 1977.Calle Velasco, M. D. de la, “Sobre los orígenes del estado social en España”, Ayer, 25 (1997), pp. 127-150.D’Ors, E., “La unidad de Europa”, La Vanguardia, (1/12/1914), p. 7.Díaz Plaja, F., Francófilos y germanófilos. Los españoles en la guerra europea, Barcelona, Dopesa, 1973.Díez, P., Memorias de un anarcosindicalista de acción, Barcelona, Bellaterra, 2006.Domingo Méndez, R., “La Gran Guerra y la neutralidad española: entre la tradición historiográfica y las nuevas líneas de investigación”, Spagna Contemporanea, 34 (2008), pp. 27-44.Esculies, J., “España y la Gran Guerra. Nuevas aportaciones historiográficas”, Historia y Política, 32 (2014), pp. 47-70.Esdaile, Ch. J., La Quiebra del liberalismo, 1808-1939, Barcelona, Crítica, 2001.Foix, P., Los Archivos del terrorismo blanco. El fichero Lasarte (1910-1930), Madrid, Las Ediciones de la Piqueta, 1978.Forcadell, C., Parlamentarismo y bolchevización. El movimiento obrero español, 1914-1918, Barcelona, Crítica, 1978.Fuentes Codera, M., “El somni del retorn a l’Imperi: Eugeni d’Ors davant la Gran Guerra”, Recerques, 55 (2007), pp. 73-93.Fuentes Codera, M., “Germanófilos y neutralistas. Proyectos tradicionalistas y regeneracionistas para España (1914-1918)”, Ayer, 91/3 (2013), pp. 63-92.Fuentes Codera, M., España en la Primera Guerra Mundial. Una movilización cultural, Madrid, Akal, 2014.García Oliver, J., El Eco de los pasos, Paris/Barcelona, Ruedo Ibérico, 1978.García Sanz, F., España en la Gran Guerra, Madrid, Galaxia Gutenberg, 2014.Giráldez, E., “Brabo Portillo ¡Yo te acuso, Asesino!”, Solidaridad Obrera, 840 (5/8/1918), p. 1.Golden, L., “Les dones com avantguarda; El rebombori del pa del gener 1918”, L’Avenç (1981), pp. 45-52.Golden, L., “The women in command. The Barcelona women’s consumer war of 1918”, UCLA Historical Journal (1985), pp. 5-32.E. González Calleja y F. del Rey Reguillo, La Defensa armada contra la revolución. Una historia de las guardias cívicas en la España del siglo XX, Madrid, CSIC, 1995.González Calleja, E., La Razón de la fuerza. Orden público, subversión y violencia política en la España de la Restauración, 1875-1917, Madrid, CSIC, 1998.González Calleja, E., El Máuser y el sufragio. Orden público, subversión y violencia política en la crisis de la Restauración (1917-1931), Madrid, CSIC, 1999.González Calleja, E., (ed.), Políticas del miedo. Un balance del terrorismo en Europa, Madrid, Biblioteca Nueva, 2002.González Calleja, E., La España de Primo de Rivera. La modernización autoritaria 1923-1930, Madrid, Alianza Editorial, 2005.González Calleja, E., El laboratorio del miedo. Una historia general del terrorismo, Barcelona, Crítica, 2013.González Calleja, E. y Aubert, P., Nidos de espías. España, Francia y la Primera Guerra Mundial, Madrid, Alianza, 2014.González Calleja, E. (coord.), Anatomía de una crisis. 1917 y los españoles, Madrid, Alianza, 2017.Granados de Siles, J., “El escandaloso espionaje de Barcelona”, Solidaridad Obrera, 793 (19/6/1918), p. 1.Gual Villalbí, P., Memorias de un industrial de nuestro tiempo, Barcelona, Sociedad General de Publicaciones, [193?].León-Ignacio, J., Los años del pistolerismo. Ensayo para una guerra civil, Barcelona, Planeta, 1981.León-Ignacio, J., “Brabo Portillo, comisario y político”, Historia y vida, 181 (1983), pp. 68-73.Llates, R., 30 anys de vida catalana, Barcelona, Aedos, 1969.Madrid, F., Ocho meses y un día en el Gobierno Civil de Barcelona (confesiones y testimonios), Barcelona-Madrid, Las ediciones de la flecha, 1932.Manent, J., Records d’un sindicalista llibertari català, 1916-1943, París, Edicions Catalanes de París, 1976.Marquès, J., Història de l’organització sindical tèxtil “El Radium”, Barcelona, La Llar del Llibre, 1989.Márquez, B. y Capo, J. M., Las Juntas militares de defensa, Barcelona, Librería Sintes, 1923.Martínez Fiol, D., El catalanisme i la Gran Guerra (1914-1918). Antologia, Barcelona, La Magrana, 1988.Martínez Fiol, D. y Esculies Serrat, J., L’Assemblea de Parlamentaris de 1917 i la Catalunya rebel, Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya, 2017.Martínez Fiol, D. y Esculies Serrat, J., 1917. El año en que España pudo cambiar, Sevilla, Renacimiento, 2018.M.C.C., “El ‘affaire’ Brabo Portillo”, publicado en El Parlamentario y reproducido por Solidaridad Obrera, 926 (2/11/1918), p. 1.Mendoza, E., La verdad sobre el caso Savolta, Barcelona, Seix y Barral, 1975.Morales Lezcano, V., El colonialismo hispano-francés en Marruecos (1898-1927), Madrid, Siglo XXI, 1976.Navarra, A., 1914. Aliadófilos y germanófilos en la cultura española, Madrid, Cátedra, 2014.Navarra, A., Aliadòfils i germanòfils a Catalunya durant la Primera Guerra Mundial, Barcelona, Generalitat-CHCC, 2016.Nisk, “¡Inocente Brabo!”, Solidaridad Obrera, 789 (15/6/1918), p, 1.Pestaña, Á.,“A vuela pluma” y “En Libertad”, Solidaridad Obrera, 840-841 (5-6/8/1918), p. 1.Pestaña, Á., Terrorismo en Barcelona. Memorias inéditas, Barcelona, Planeta, [1979].Pradas Baena, M. A., L’anarquisme i les lluites socials a Barcelona 1918-1923. La repressió obrera i la violència, Barcelona, PAM, 2003.Pujadas, X., Marcel·lí Domingo i el marcel·linisme, [Barcelona], PAM, 1996.Roig, M., Rafael Vidiella. L’aventura de la revolució, Barcelona, Laia, 1976.Romero Salvadó, F. J., “Crisi, agonia i fi de la monarquía liberal (1914-1923)”, Segle XX. Revista catalana d’història, 1 (2008), pp. 57-82.Romero Salvadó, F. J. y Smith, A. (eds.), The Agony of Spanish Liberalism. FromRevolution to Dictatorship 1913-23, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.Rosenbusch, A., “Los servicios de información alemanes: sabotaje y actividad secreta”, Andalucía en la historia, 45 (2014), pp. 24-29.Rosenbusch, A., “Guerra Total en territorio neutral: Actividades alemanas en España durante la Primera Guerra Mundial”, Hispania Nova, 15 (2017), pp. 350-372.S. A., “Historia de un ‘bravo’ muy pillo”, La Campana de Gracia, 2569 (28/6/1918), p. 4.S.A., L’Esquella de la Torratxa, (12/7 y 30/8/ y 12/9/1918), pp. 447, 451, 456, 458, 568, 577 y 592.S. A., “A cada puerco le llega su San Martín” y “La muerte de Batet”, Solidaridad Obrera, 711 y 712 (9 y 10/1/1918), p. 1.S. A., Solidaridad Obrera, 713-716 (11-14/1/1918), p. 1.S. A., “Los conflictos del hambre”, Solidaridad Obrera, 717, 719-721 y 723-727 (15 y 17-19 y 21-25/1/1918), p. 1.S.A., Solidaridad Obrera, 783 y 784-786, (9-12/6/1918), p. 1.S.A., Solidaridad Obrera, 789-790, 794-795, 798 (15-16, 20-21 y 24/6/1918), p. 1.S. A., Solidaridad Obrera, 833 y 837 (28/7 y 2/8/1918), p. 1.S. A., Solidaridad Obrera, (3/7 y 12/12/1918), p. 2.S.A., “Veredicto popular”, Solidaridad Obrera, 790, 791, 793, 794, 795, 798, 799, 800, 802, 808, 809, 810, 811, 815, 816, 817, 818, 819, 820, 821, 822, 823, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829, 830, 832, 833, 834, 835, 836, 837, 838, 839 (16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28/6; 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31/7; 1, 2, 3, 4/8/1918), pp. 1-3.S.A., “Envío a doña Remedios Montero de Brabo Portillo”, 871 (7/9/1918), p. 1.S.A., Solidaridad Obrera, (24, 25, 26, 27, 28 y 30/6 y 3, 6, 8, 5, 10, 12, 13 y 19/7, 4, 5, 9, 23, 24 y 26/8, 21, 24, 25, 31/10, 1, 2/11/ y 1-6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 20, 30 y 31/12/1918), pp. 1-4.Safont, J., Per França i Anglaterra. La I Guerra Mundial dels aliadòfils catalans, Barcelona, Acontravent, 2012.Sánchez Marín, A. L., “El Instituto de Reformas Sociales: origen, evolución y funcionamiento”, Revista Crítica de Historia de las Relaciones Laborales y de la Política Social, 8 (mayo 2014), pp. 7-28.Smith, A., “The Catalan Counter-revolutionary Coalition and the Primo de Rivera Coup, 1917–23”, European History Quaterly 37:1 (2007), pp. 7-34.Smith, A., Anarchism, revolution and reaction. Catalan labor and the crisis of the Spanish State, 1898-1923, New York, Oxford, Berghahn, 2007.Soldevilla, F., El Año político 1920, Madrid, I. de Julio Cosano, 1921.Taibo II, P. I., Que sean fuego las estrellas. Barcelona (1917-1923), Barcelona, Crítica, 2016.Tamames, R. y Casals, X., Miguel Primo de Rivera, Barcelona, Ediciones B, 2004.Tusell, J., Radiografía de un golpe de estado. El ascenso al poder del general Primo de Rivera, Madrid, Alianza, 1987.Val, R. del y Río del Val, J. del, Solidaridad Obrera, 787-788, 790, 794, 801, 805, 807, 811, 814, 818, 828, 829, 836, 970 (13, 14, 16, 20 y 27/6/, 3, 7, 10, 14, 23, 24 y 31/7/ y 1/8/ y 10/121918), p. 1.Vandellós, P., “Contra los sindicatos. Los procesos de la sindicación obrera. De actualidad”, Solidaridad Obrera, 791 (17/6/1918), p. 1.Vidiella, R., Los de ayer. Novela, Madrid-Barcelona, Nuestro Pueblo, 1938.Winston, C. M., La Clase trabajadora y la derecha en España (1900-1936), Madrid, Cátedra, 1989.Winston, C. M., “Carlist workers groups in Catalonia, 1900-1923”, en S. G. Payne (dir.), Identidad y nacionalismo en la España contemporánea: el carlismo, 1833-1975, Madrid, Actas, 1996, pp. 85-101.Wosky, Solidaridad Obrera, 791, 801 y 820, (17 y 21/6/ 10/7/1918), pp. 1 y 3.

Although there is now a wealth of scholarship concerning the onset, duration, and termination of civil wars, there is not nearly as much empirical research by political scientists on the potential for postconflict democratization in countries that have been the site of civil wars. This relative scholarly neglect of post–civil war democratization stands in contrast to the efforts and resources that other actors—foreign ministries, international and nongovernmental organizations, and members of civil society—have invested in attempting to help construct democracy in postconflict states such as Indonesia, Liberia, and Uganda.

Using archival sources that only recently have become available, this article fo-cuses on the interplay between the concepts of war and peace in the strategy of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) during the Greek Civil War of the late 1940s. The article demonstrates that the choices facing the KKE and its opponents changed quite dramatically in the period from 1945 to 1949. The active role of Great Britain in Greek domestic affairs and the relatively limited role of the Soviet nion meant that the KKE was increasingly ostracized in the international community. The unwillingness of the Greek Liberal Party to forge a political alliance with the KKE prompted the Communists to resume their armed struggle for power. This article presents the alternatives facing the KKE in light of the postwar domestic and international contexts.

This article investigates the potential for using the principle of universal jurisdiction to prescribe and then prosecute international crimes committed in Liberia during the two civil conflict periods: 1989 to 1997 and 1999 to 2003. More particularly, the article unpacks the concept of universal jurisdiction and explores the benefits that it offers in ending impunity for heinous international crimes. The article explores some of the controversies that have prevented the effective use of the principle of universal jurisdiction and highlights why it remains relevant, given the current response by the African Union to international prosecutions. The article highlights the reason why cases such as Kosiah and Massaquoi are especially significant in ending impunity in the case of Liberia, and how the success or failure of such cases can have a ripple effect, creating the necessary pressure for the establishment of an Extraordinary Criminal Court for Liberia on Liberian soil.

AbstractWhat are the effects of international intervention on the rule of law after civil war? Rule of law requires not only that state authorities abide by legal limits on their power, but also that citizens rely on state laws and institutions to adjudicate disputes. Using an original survey and list experiment in Liberia, I show that exposure to the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) increased citizens’ reliance on state over nonstate authorities to resolve the most serious incidents of crime and violence, and increased nonstate authorities’ reliance on legal over illegal mechanisms of dispute resolution. I use multiple identification strategies to support a causal interpretation of these results, including an instrumental variables strategy that leverages plausibly exogenous variation in the distribution of UNMIL personnel induced by the killing of seven peacekeepers in neighboring Côte d'Ivoire. My results are still detectable two years later, even in communities that report no further exposure to peacekeepers. I also find that exposure to UNMIL did not mitigate and may in fact have exacerbated citizens’ perceptions of state corruption and bias in the short term, but that these apparently adverse effects dissipated over time. I conclude by discussing implications of these complex but overall beneficial effects.

Data on global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows shows that civil war significantly deters investment, while post-civil war settings attract investment. Civil wars, however, can end in different ways (government victories, rebel victories, and various types of settlements) and firms should be attracted to terminations that reveal more information about the future political and economic stability of the nation. We argue that comprehensive peace agreements and their subsequent implementation convey the most relevant information to investors regarding the credibility of the conflict actors’ commitment to future peace and stability and should thus attract the most FDI. Analysis of FDI inflows to 73 post-civil war countries lends support to our argument. The policy implications of the study are straightforward: governments that wish to attract the maximum amount of FDI for economic reconstruction following a civil war should negotiate and implement a comprehensive peace agreement.

While the study of the causes of civil war is a well-established subdiscipline in international relations, the effects of civil war on society remain less understood. Yet, such effects could have crucial implications for long-term stability and democracy in a country after the reaching of a peace agreement. This article contributes to the understanding of the effects of warfare on interethnic relations, notably attitudes of ethno-nationalism. Two hypotheses are tested: first, that the prevalence of ethno-nationalism is higher after than before the war, and second, that individuals who have been directly affected by the war are more nationalist than others. The variation in ethno-nationalism is examined over time, between countries, and between ethnic groups. Three countries that did not experience conflict on their own territory serve as a control group. The effect of individual war exposure is also tested in the analysis. Sources include survey data from the former Yugoslavia in 1989, shortly before the outbreak of war in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in 2003, some years after the violence in the region ended. Contrary to common beliefs, the study shows that ethno-nationalism does not necessarily increase with ethnic civil war. The individual war experiences are less important than expected.

ObjectivesOnly 12 countries in the WHO’s African region met Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015. Given the variability across the African region, a four-country mixed methods study was undertaken to examine barriers and facilitators of child survival prior to 2015. Liberia was selected for an in-depth case study due to its success in reducing under-five mortality by 73% and thus successfully meeting MDG 4. Liberia’s success was particularly notable given the civil war that ended in 2003. We examined some factors contributing to their reductions in under-five mortality.DesignA case study mixed methods approach drawing on data from quantitative indicators, national documents and qualitative interviews was used to describe factors that enabled Liberia to rebuild their maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) programmes and reduce under-five mortality following the country’s civil war.SettingThe interviews were conducted in Monrovia (Montserrado County) and the areas in and around Gbarnga, Liberia (Bong County, North Central region).ParticipantsKey informant interviews were conducted with Ministry of Health officials, donor organisations, community-based organisations involved in MNCH and healthcare workers. Focus group discussions were conducted with women who have experience accessing MNCH services.ResultsThree prominent factors contributed to the reduction in under-five mortality: national prioritisation of MNCH after the civil war; implementation of integrated packages of services that expanded access to key interventions and promoted intersectoral collaborations; and use of outreach campaigns, community health workers and trained traditional midwives to expand access to care and improve referrals.ConclusionsAlthough Liberia experiences continued challenges related to limited resources, Liberia’s effective strategies and rapid progress may provide insights for reducing under-five mortality in other post-conflict settings.

Two decades of civil war have left Liberians facing many challenges. One such group includes those concerned with the preservation and maintenance of Liberia's archives, which were severely compromised during the period of conflict. This paper provides a brief introduction for scholars as to the nature of Liberia's archival materials available in-country, the impact of the war on the collections, and details about how scholars interested in the history of Liberia may access these records.There are three archival collections in Liberia. The first is at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tubman Boulevard, between 12th and 13th Streets. The second is at the Center for National Documents and Records (National Archives) at 96 Ashmun Street, while the third—the Presidential Archives—is at the Executive Mansion on Capitol Hill.

In January 1986 Bruce Boiling, a member of the Boston City Council, became the first black president in the council's 166-year history. Boiling's presidency marks the culmination of the slow, but steadily growing empowerment of blacks in Boston politics. While blacks have always been present in Boston politics they have more often been observers, rather than participants as the Yankees and the Irish have dominated the political stage. In order to understand the role of blacks in Boston it is necessary to have some background knowledge of how Yankee paternalism retarded black political development and how Irish displacement of the Yankees resulted in the exclusion of blacks from Democratic party politics.Historical AntecedentsBoston politics has its roots in the historical relationships among the Yankees, the Irish, and the blacks. Under Yankee domination colonial and pre-Civil War blacks experienced racial harmony in an atmosphere where they could enjoy civil and political rights. Wealthy Yankee traders viewed free blacks paternalistically, as a low income class of people (Lupo, 1977, p. 124). Since Yankees were members of the political and cultural elite they did not perceive blacks as an economic threat to their position. Consequently, blacks could freely operate businesses, buy property, and run for office (Horton, 1979).As slavery became an increasingly important issue in the 1850s free blacks and Yankee abolitionists formed integrated organizations to end slavery. Abolitionist organizations provided an opportunity for free blacks to learn organizational and political skills. Yet, blacks often found that their efforts to become leaders were thwarted by white patrons who expected blacks to work only as obedient followers. A notable case among many was the conflict between white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, a former slave, over the crucial issue of the future role of blacks in electoral politics (Quarles, 1969). Frederick Douglass broke with Garrison who felt that blacks should not be encouraged to vote in a political system where the Constitution protected the rights of slaveholders (Horton, 1979, p. 86). Douglass adamantly advocated electoral participation and pulled some black abolitionists from Garrison's ranks. Douglass felt that participation in the electoral process was a necessary step in the political development of blacks. To affirm his convictions Douglass ran on the Liberal ticket for an office in New York state.

In January 1986 Bruce Boiling, a member of the Boston City Council, became the first black president in the council's 166-year history. Boiling's presidency marks the culmination of the slow, but steadily growing empowerment of blacks in Boston politics. While blacks have always been present in Boston politics they have more often been observers, rather than participants as the Yankees and the Irish have dominated the political stage. In order to understand the role of blacks in Boston it is necessary to have some background knowledge of how Yankee paternalism retarded black political development and how Irish displacement of the Yankees resulted in the exclusion of blacks from Democratic party politics.Historical AntecedentsBoston politics has its roots in the historical relationships among the Yankees, the Irish, and the blacks. Under Yankee domination colonial and pre-Civil War blacks experienced racial harmony in an atmosphere where they could enjoy civil and political rights. Wealthy Yankee traders viewed free blacks paternalistically, as a low income class of people (Lupo, 1977, p. 124). Since Yankees were members of the political and cultural elite they did not perceive blacks as an economic threat to their position. Consequently, blacks could freely operate businesses, buy property, and run for office (Horton, 1979).As slavery became an increasingly important issue in the 1850s free blacks and Yankee abolitionists formed integrated organizations to end slavery. Abolitionist organizations provided an opportunity for free blacks to learn organizational and political skills. Yet, blacks often found that their efforts to become leaders were thwarted by white patrons who expected blacks to work only as obedient followers. A notable case among many was the conflict between white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, a former slave, over the crucial issue of the future role of blacks in electoral politics (Quarles, 1969). Frederick Douglass broke with Garrison who felt that blacks should not be encouraged to vote in a political system where the Constitution protected the rights of slaveholders (Horton, 1979, p. 86). Douglass adamantly advocated electoral participation and pulled some black abolitionists from Garrison's ranks. Douglass felt that participation in the electoral process was a necessary step in the political development of blacks. To affirm his convictions Douglass ran on the Liberal ticket for an office in New York state.

The Liberian civil war was the major issue in US–Guinea relations between 1990 and 2003. During the first half of this period, the US sought with limited success to secure Guinea's cooperation in finding a diplomatic solution. President Conté viewed Charles Taylor as Guinea's implacable enemy and authorised arms support for anti-Taylor factions, while the US pressed for a negotiated peace. The Guinean leader's negative reaction to US criticism of the flawed 1993 presidential elections halted most dialogue on Liberia for the next two years. When Taylor continued supporting civil war in Sierra Leone after 1997, and fighters allied to him assaulted Guinea border posts in 1999, the US strengthened its engagement with Guinea. Providing military training and non-lethal equipment, it sought to counter the threat that Guinea would succumb to the destabilisation which had afflicted Liberia and Sierra Leone. The US appears positioned to play a positive role in Guinea's political and economic transition after the departure from the scene of the seriously ill Guinean president.

The 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the ensuing two-year-long National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL), which brought together two rebel forces, the former government and members of civil society, justifiably had many critics but also one positive and possibly redeeming feature. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the realpolitik nature of the CPA and the barely disguised gross corruption of the members of the coalition government, the protagonists in the second Liberian civil war (2000–03) complied with the agreement and the peace process held. The culmination of this sequence of events was the 11 October 2005 national elections, the 8 November presidential run-off and the 16 January 2006 inauguration. In several ways, this was the African post-conflict election that broke the mould, but not just in that a woman, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, won the presidential race, and a football star, George Weah, came second. The virtual absence of transformed rebel forces or an overbearing incumbent in the electoral races, partially as a result of the CPA and NTGL, gave these polls extraordinary features in an African setting.

Background: A better understanding of attitudes and beliefs held by traditional healers and utilizers of traditional medicine concerning mental health conditions in Liberia is important as Liberia seeks to improve its delivery of mental healthcare in the context of scarce resources and recovery from civil war. Methods: A qualitative research design was used to collect data from 24 Liberian traditional healers, and 11 utilizers of Liberian traditional medicine. Participants were queried about mental health problems in Liberia, treatments, and attitudes towards modern healthcare. Qualitative data were probed and aggregated using content analysis. Results: Mental health problems described by study participants included: Open Mole, African Science, Epilepsy, Depres- sion and Mental Illness (trauma/substance use). Mental health problems were often associated with socioeconomic distress, and participants described their attitudes and beliefs concerning mental healthcare, traditional medicine, and modern health- care. Conclusion: Traditional medicine is an important part of mental healthcare in Africa. Mental illness, social factors, and healthcare access were important problems in Liberia. Mental health problems blended local cultural beliefs with Western- ized nosology and social factors. Traditional healer’s attitudes towards Western medicine reflected ambivalence. There is a desire for collaboration with ‘modern’ health care providers, but this will require reciprocal trust-building. Keywords: Traditional healer; mental healthcare; Liberia; qualitative research.

In October1884, the major European colonial powers of the era were invited to a conference in Berlin by the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck.1The United States also attended the proceedings as an observer nation, and its representative, John A. Kasson, signed the Berlin Convention, one of the primary purposes of which was to regulate escalating imperial conflict by officially delineating the territorial boundaries of colonial possessions. Although warfare between colonial armies in Africa during World War I underscored the failure of negotiators to avoid yet another global military conflict, the Berlin conference none the less consecrated the creation of formal European empires and ‘spheres of interest’ throughout the continent. Except for the unique cases of Ethiopia and Liberia, independent Africa eventually ceased to exist.

Water is an essential component in the existence of man and his environments. Despite the tremendous effort made by the Liberia Government through the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation in providing efficient, safe and affordable water supply to the inhabitants of Monrovia and its environs, water supply coverage is still low to meet the demand of the growing population of its inhabitants most especially during the dry season every year. Before the Liberian Civil War in 1990, the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation supplied sufficient water for the inhabitants of Monrovia and its environs at that time the treatment Plant was in full operation and supplied 16 million gallons per day on the total population of 500, 000 people. After the 14-year Civil War the population of Monrovia and its surroundings has increased to 1,500,000 people thereby tripling the total population before the war and leading to water shortage in the city. There is no constant supply of water, operation and maintenance of the system as well as revenue generation from bills distributed to customers however, leakages within the networks are alarming because the pipes have over-lived its life span. This research scrutinizes reports, literature, studies and other important details regarding the Liberia’s Water Sector ensuring to outlines the primary causes of the challenges and constraints the management faces in delivering water to the people of Monrovia and its surroundings and also discusses the way forward ranges from technical, economic and social issues. The management has an opportunity of improving the current situation through adequate strategies for monitoring water services and water resources, making use of sustainable technologies and linking with target beneficiaries in the development of water supply systems within Monrovia and its environs and it can only be archived through proper planning and management system.

This is a Liberian perspective on the unique initiative by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to resolve the Liberian conflict by organizing and deploying a Peace Monitoring Group in Liberia. It considers whether ECOWAS’ initiative can become a self-reliant security system that can end a civil war and institutionalize deterrence to subregional inter-state and internal conflicts. Can this self-generated, West African initiative set the stage for democratization? Is the initiative the start of an inter-African cooperative security system? Is the model of Nigerian leadership a harbinger of a regional hegemony in the making? Is the modest role of the USA constructive in resolving the conflict, in light of the fact that Liberia is a country with which the USA has had an historic relationship?

The phenomenon of state breakdown in the post-cold war era has significantly increased the demand for peacekeeping operations around the world. The United Nations has stepped boldly into the breach, considerably expanding its interventions in hotspots on all continents. Yet the capacity of the UN to respond is often uncertain, and this has sparked interest in the concept of regional peacekeeping as an alternative, especially since the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) deployed the Cease-fire Monitoring Group (Ecomog) to stem the ravages of civil war in Liberia.

This article argues that the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90) was in essence a terror of state directed by mercantile economic and political elites (the comprador class) controlling the Lebanese state and society against the middle and poorer classes (the working class). The aim of this terror or organized violence was to subdue the subordinate classes, which in the late 1960s and early 1970s rebelled against the confessional system that operated for the benefit of the comprador class. The rebellion was expressed by members of the working-class joining cross-confessional nationalist and leftist parties. Hence, violence was aimed at reestablishing the confessional order as a means to restore a hegemonic system that served the interests of the comprador class at a time when this class was rehabilitating its economic role by resurrecting the financial system, which had received a severe blow in the late 1960s. It effected this rehabilitation through the Taif Agreement signed between Lebanese parliamentarians in 1989, under the auspices of Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, to favor the new mercantile elite led by Rafiq Hariri.

This paper advances the notion of civil non-state actors in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Using Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire as cases studies, the paper identifies three kinds of civil non-state actors in war-torn countries: international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based NGOs, and ad hoc community organizations. In addition, it argues that civil non-state actors play a critical problem-solving role in peacekeeping and peacebuilding and complement the role of state actors. The paper examines the role of civil non-state actors through their dialectical affinity with state actors in the peacekeeping and peacebuilding processes. It further expands the notion of non-state actors in peacekeeping and peacebuilding to encompass community-based NGOs and ad hoc community organizations. Moreover, it points to the positive role of civil non-state actors and the wide range of activities they perform, especially in peace mediation and post-war reconstruction.