Combatants, patrons, peacemakers, and the Liberian civil conflict

Abstract

Abstract The paper examines the various major actors in the Liberian civil conflict, the impact of the conflict, and the efforts to resolve it peacefully. First, the major combatants are identified as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, the major insurgency movement, the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia, the breakaway faction from the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, and the Armed Forces of Liberia, the remnants of the Liberian army that supported the Doe regime. Second, the external players are the Economic Community of West African States, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Libya, Burkina Faso, and the United States. The conflict is the by‐product of the perennial problems of socioeconomic underdevelopment and political repression that have undergirded the Liberian polity since the country became independent in 1847. Accordingly, in order to resolve the conflict completely, concerted efforts must be made to address these problems. In other words, the cessation of military hostilities and ...