Strategic policy failure and governance in Sierra Leone
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4790302 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yusuf Bangura (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 551-577 |
| Publication date | 2000-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Modern African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-278X • E-ISSN: 1469-7777 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0022278x00003451 |
| OpenAlex | W2108374208 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
| References cited | 5 |
The brutal nine-year conflict in Sierra Leone has defied both military solutions adopted by various governments and peace accords imposed by the international community and regional powers. The latest casualty is the controversial Lomé Accord, which gave power and amnesty to the rebels in a power-sharing government. This article offers explanations for the failures by focusing on the interplay between the policy choices of decision-makers and the country's governance institutions and social structure. The policies of decision-makers can have negative consequences on societies if they are grounded on institutions that are at variance with a country's social structure. The article develops three main arguments to support this conclusion. First, the country's bipolar ethnic structure and majoritarian presidential system of government act as serious constraints on policies that seek to forge a national coalition to end the war. Second, conventional armies in ethnically polarised settings are a poor instrument for fighting rebel groups that deliberately use mass abductions and terror as war strategies. Third, peacemakers do not understand the institutional contexts in which violence-prone rebel groups can be made to reclaim their humanity and observe peace agreements. The logic of the interconnections between territory, resources and civilisation suggests that Sierra Leone's rebels are unlikely to accept disarmament and honour the democratic road to peace
Amnesty · Corporate governance · Development economics · Disarmament · Economics · Government (linguistics) · Human rights · International community · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Sierra leone · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance · Public Administration
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Party Politics and Change of Ethnic Salience in Post-Conflict Africa
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Sierra Leone at 50
Sierra Leone
Peacebuilding Legacy
War and the Crisis of Youth in Sierra Leone
From War to Democracy
Ethnicity and the Colonial State
Violent conflicts and governance challenges in West Africa
The terrible toll of post-colonial 'rebel movements' in Africa
Peace Agreements
Under the Roof of Rebels
Insurgency and Ivory
Rethinking burgeoning political consciousness
The West Side Boys
Transitional Justice, States of Emergency and Business as Usual in Sierra Leone
A Great Scholar is an Overeducated Person
Using Power-Sharing to Win a War
| Unique citing works | 21 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,84 |
| Citation span | 2001 - 2024 (24) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |