Liberia and Sierra Leone—dead ringers? The logic of neopatrimonial rule

Abstract

There are many different causes behind the two civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Some are clearly unique to each country, whereas some of the most significant causes of war are shared in both cases. This article argues that the most basic reasons for these two wars are to be found in the extreme version of neopatrimonial politics that was developed in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Neopatrimonialism is not unique to these two countries, nor to Africa. However, the historical experience of the two countries suggests that Liberia and Sierra Leone developed an extreme version of neopatrimonial politics built on the need to secure the self through self-categorisation into self and other. The article therefore suggests that the historical legacy of these interlinkages is so substantial that the fates of Liberia and Sierra Leone are locked together like a pair of dead ringers. Neither country is likely to achieve sustainable peace if warlike conditions still exist in the other country.

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