Adult Authority, Social Conflict, and Youth Survival Strategies in Post Civil War Liberia
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‘Listen, Politics is not for Children:’ Adult Authority, Social Conflict, and Youth Survival Strategies in Post Civil War Liberia. DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Henryatta Louise Ballah Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Drs. Ousman Kobo, Advisor Antoinette Errante Ahmad Sikianga i Copyright by Henryatta Louise Ballah 2012 ii Abstract This dissertation explores the historical causes of the Liberian civil war (1989- 2003), with a keen attention to the history of Liberian youth, since the beginning of the Republic in 1847. I carefully analyzed youth engagements in social and political change throughout the country’s history, including the ways by which the civil war impacted the youth and inspired them to create new social and economic spaces for themselves. As will be demonstrated in various chapters, despite their marginalization by the state, the youth have played a crucial role in the quest for democratization in the country, especially since the 1960s. I place my analysis of the youth in deep societal structures related to Liberia’s colonial past and neo-colonial status, as well as the impact of external factors, such as the financial and military support the regime of Samuel Doe received from the United States during the cold war and the influence of other African nations. I emphasize that the socio-economic and political policies implemented by the Americo- Liberians (freed slaves from the U.S.) who settled in the country beginning in 1822, helped lay the foundation for the civil war. I also argue that the oppressive regime of Samuel Kanyon Doe (1980-1990), the first indigenous non-settler president of Liberia, failed to address the prevailing social, economic and political inequalities that had been fostered by the Americo-Liberians, and this failure provided additional impetus that ignited what seemed clearly to be a time-bomb waiting to explode due to the deep inequality in Liberian society, an inequality that had made a segment of the society already angry with the political status quo. The youth of Liberia were among those who ii resented the political status quo fostered by the Americo-Liberians and later entrenched by the Doe regime. Thus, contrary to prevailing notions in the bulk of the existing literature that depicts the youth as innocent people drawn into civil conflicts against their will, I argue that Liberian youth considered themselves active members of their society, who must contribute to its transformation even if that meant picking up arms against corrupt leaders. iii Dedication To the children and youth of Liberia who in the midst of tremendous obstacles and challenges labor daily to survive. For Alexandra and Uriyah. iv Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the support, assistance and encouragement of many people, many of whom I will not be able to mention by name. To all who have assisted and supported me over the years, please accept my sincerest gratitude. To my mentor of twelve years, Dr. Clemente Abrokwaa, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. None of this would have been possible without your support and encouragement over the years. You are not only the wind beneath my wings; you gave me wings to fly. To my advisor, Dr. Ousman Kobo, words alone cannot express how thankful and appreciative I am for all you have done to help make this project a success. Your commitment to the success of students’ both in and out of the classroom is a source of inspiration. To Dr. Ahmad Sikianga, I thank you for your support over the years. I also want to thank Dr. Antoinette Errante for joining the team. To Drs. Claire Rebortson, Simone Drake and Randolph Roth: thanks for your commitment to my success. To my Mother, Vivian Assad, thanks for the gift of life; to my father, Augustus Warsaw, thanks for being my first history teacher. To Alex- your love, prayers and support sustain me daily and I bless God for you. To all my nieces and nephews, thanks for your warmth. To the Fellowship, you know who you are, thanks for all your prayers and encouragement. Ms. Melinda Bogarty, your friendship and support have meant the world to me and I cherish you dearly. I also which to thank Mr. Ezekiel Peebles of the Department of African American and African Studies for your support and v encouragement over the years. A special thank you to Ms. Molly Reinhoudt for all her assistance with this project. Last but not least, I want to thank the entire staff of the History Department- Mr. Jim Bach, Ms. Chris Burton, and Dr. Richard Ugland for all your support over the years. vi Vita May 2004……………………B.A. African Studies, The Pennsylvania State University May 2004……………………B.A. Women’s Studies, The Pennsylvania State University June 2006……………………..M.A. Women’s Studies, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: History vii Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................ii Dedication ..................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................v Vita ..............................................................................................................................vii Introduction ................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: From Slaves to Aristocrats: Americo-Liberians and the Formation of a new Republic (1847-1979) ................................................................................................29 Chapter 2: The Samuel Kanyon Doe Regime: ‘Native Woman born Soldier, Congo Woman born Rogue’ (1980-1990) .............................................................................95 Chapter 3: When Doe died, the War should have Ended (1990-2003) .....................142 Chapter 4: ‘Vote for me:’ Papa will Come Home with Black Plastic Bag (2005-2010) ....................................................................................................177 Conclusion .................................................................................................................225 Bibliography ..............................................................................................................237 viii INTRODUCTION This dissertation explores the historical causes of the Liberian civil war (1989- 2003), with a keen attention to the history of Liberian youth, since the beginning of the Republic in 1847. I carefully analyzed youth engagements in social and political change throughout the country’s history, including the ways by which the civil war impacted the youth and inspired them to create new social and economic spaces for themselves. As will be demonstrated in various chapters, despite their marginalization by the state, the youth have played a crucial role in the quest for democratization in the country, especially since the 1960s. The end of the Cold War in 1989 was an important watershed in the history of modern Africa. This period was marked on the one hand, by the decline of direct foreign interventions in the domestic politics of many African countries, especially in Southern Africa where the end of Cold War politics probably led to a majority rule in South Africa, facilitated the process of Namibian independence, and stimulated political stability in Mozambique. On the other hand, we witnessed the intensification of pre-existing civil conflicts in places like Angola, Ethiopia, and Sudan, and the outbreak of new ones in the Congo, Algeria, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Algeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Within 1 the West African sub-region, Cote d’Ivoire, a neighbor to Liberia and Sierra Leone, would be added to the list of countries torn by civil strife, starting from the late 1990s.1 While the correlation between the end of the Cold War and the intensification of civil wars in Africa, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, is beyond the scope of this dissertation, it provides an important background to exploring the sudden outbreak of civil wars in many parts of Africa during the 1990s, especially in countries such as Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia that were once considered stable democracies. In these countries, the correlation between the end of the Cold War and the outbreak of civil wars is not readily evident, suggesting that we explore the histories of these societies in order to provide a deeper insight into the causes of these conflicts and why they emerged at this specific moment in African history. This dissertation is posited on the premise that to understand civil conflicts in contemporary Africa, one must pay attention to internal and external factors, and to examine these factors in a longue durée. In the case of Liberia more specifically, we can trace the outbreak of the civil war to the trajectory of the country’s unique history, while paying attention to the ways by which the end of the Cold War provided new political space whereby internal conflicts that had remained dormant for more than a century, suddenly exploded and facilitated the formation of ethnic alliances to contest for power without much apprehension of the possibility of intervention by the global powers. Liberia, which was, as many