Second time around: ex-combatants at the polls in Liberia

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Periodical article

Title:	Second time around: ex-combatants at the polls in Liberia
Author:	Söderström, Johanna
Year:	2013
Periodical:	Journal of Modern African Studies (ISSN 0022-278X)
Volume:	51
Issue:	3
Pages:	409-433
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Liberia
Subjects:	veterans elections legitimacy democratization
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/43302890
Abstract:	A precondition for sustainable peace and democracy is the acceptance of new ways of solving political problems without resorting to arms. Post-war elections are an important point for testing the legitimacy of the new regime, highlighting the depth of micro-level support for democracy. In the case of Liberia, the most notable problem of the elections of 2005 related to the issue of legitimacy. The ex-combatants did not trust the results and felt abandoned after the elections. Such experiences stand in the way of further deepening democracy in Liberia and may offer the grounds for mobilizing anew. Yet, it is only by repeated experiences with elections that a process of democratization takes place. This article addresses how the second experience with elections has changed ex-combatants' relation with democracy and experience of legitimacy, through re-interviewing a number of ex-combatants concerning their electoral experience from 2005 and 2011. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]