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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Strategic Policy Failure and Governance in Sierra Leone
Author:Bangura, YusufISNI
Year:2000
Periodical:Journal of Modern African Studies
Volume:38
Issue:4
Period:December
Pages:551-577
Language:English
Geographic term:Sierra Leone
Subjects:civil wars
peace treaties
international relations
Politics and Government
Military, Defense and Arms
Ethnic and Race Relations
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/161509
Abstract:The 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 of 7 July 1999, which gave power and amnesty to the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) rebels in a powersharing government. This article examines the institutional constraints to the conduct of war and peace in Sierra Leone by looking at the interplay between the policy choices of decisionmakers and the country's governance institutions and social structure. The article argues that the reasons for policy failure in Sierra Leone are complex, but three are significant and are linked to the country's political institutions. 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 polarized 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 civilization suggests that Sierra Leone's rebels are unlikely to accept disarmament and honour the democratic road to peace. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.
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