Sierra Leone (1997) and the Gambia (2017)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Maria Opoku-Aikins A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ECOWAS’ INTERVENTIONS IN LIBERIA (1989), SIERRA LEONE (1997) AND THE GAMBIA (2017) Faculty of Social Sciences Master’s Thesis January 2019 ABSTRACT Maria Opoku-Aikins: A Comparative Study of ECOWAS’ Interventions in Liberia (1989), Sierra Leone (1997) and The Gambia (2017) Master’s Thesis Tampere University Master’s Programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research January 2019 Since the post-cold war era, West Africa has been experiencing violent intra- state conflicts which have escalated to extreme levels and lasted over decades at a time, which led to serious security threats in the region. ECOWAS, created initially with an objective of promoting economic integration and development in West Africa, amended its mandate to include conflict management. Since its establishment, ECOWAS has engaged in several interventions in its member states, of which Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia are part and were researched in this study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ECOWAS and its regional conflict prevention strategies, as well as make inquiries into ECOWAS’ policies for reducing security threats in the region. The study employed a qualitative approach to identify the similarities and differences between these three interventions; to determine the challenges faced in each intervention and to determine if ECOWAS took measures to address these challenges prior to subsequent interventions. The findings of the study showed that the conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone, which occurred in the early 1990’s, had similar causes, such as subdivisions among ethnicities, extreme political marginalization, poor democratic management and economic hardship. In both cases, the UN had to intervene before the conflicts could be resolved. Unlike the first two conflicts, the Gambian conflict occurred due to years of authoritative governance and major electoral misconduct in 2016. During the first two interventions, ECOWAS was presented with major challenges but through Protocol’s Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace- Keeping and Security, ECOWAS managed to address some issues. The findings of the study also revealed that during the intervention in The Gambia, ECOWAS portrayed a high level of conflict prevention skills, showing that it had addressed the challenges faced in the past and was ready to conduct mediations and interventions without the aid of the UN. ECOWAS continues to implore new methods of conflict prevention, monitoring and resolution to promote regional development, democracy and good governance. Keywords: ECOWAS, peacekeeping, intervention, regional security, mediation i ACKNOWLEDGMENT First and foremost, I would like to thank the almighty God for His blessings, protection, wisdom and strength that have enabled me to follow through and complete this thesis. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Professor Marko Lehti for his support and patience which have been vital throughout this time. I am extremely grateful to him for helping me find the perfect thesis topic and his advice at every stage of the writing process. Without his guidance, I could not have finished this thesis. I am also grateful to Leena Vastapuu, a visiting researcher at the Tampere Peace Research Institute, and Samu Pehkonen, a researcher at the Tampere university, for their constructive criticism. Their input and remarks were greatly appreciated. Furthermore, I would like to thank my mother and father, Antonina and Seth Opoku-Aikins, and my two amazing sisters Sandra and Michelle, for their well wishes and love. Last but not the least, a big thank you goes to Dela Edinam Aheto, my cherished friend, for cheering me on especially during these last few months. Writing this master’s thesis proved frustrating and difficult at times, but with the loving support and care from my partner, Mikko Marjamäki, I was able to find the strength I needed to continue writing. He has been my rock and has rooted me on throughout this entire process. ii TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................... v CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................ 1 1. Research design......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem statement .......................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Theoretical framework ................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Literature review ............................................................................................................ 9 1.5 Research Methodology ................................................................................................. 14 1.6 Arrangement of chapters .............................................................................................. 15 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................. 16 2. An overview of the Organization of African Unity and the evolution of ECOWAS ........ 16 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 16 2.2 Organization of African Unity ..................................................................................... 16 2.2.1 History and Norms ........................................................................................... 17 2.3 Introduction to ECOWAS ............................................................................................ 23 2.3.1 The Evolution of ECOWAS ............................................................................ 24 2.3.2 ECOWAS Peace and Security Framework...................................................... 26 2.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER THREE ......................................................................................................................... 33 3. ECOWAS interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone ........................................................ 33 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 33 3.2 The Liberian civil war .................................................................................................. 33 3.2.1 The ECOWAS Intervention in the Liberian Conflict ...................................... 35 3.3 Political History of Sierra Leone .................................................................................. 38 3.3.1 The conflict in Sierra Leone ............................................................................ 40 3.3.2 ECOWAS Peace Initiatives in the Sierra Leonean Conflict ............................ 42 3.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 45 iii CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................................ 47 4. An analysis of The Gambian history and politics (1965- 2017), and the ECOWAS intervention of 2016 ................................................................................................................ 47 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 47 4.2 Introduction to Gambia’s independence, society and politics ...................................... 47 4.3 The making of a state- historical background .............................................................. 49 4.4 The Jawara era (1965-1994) ......................................................................................... 51 4.4.1 The 1981 coup ................................................................................................. 52 4.4.2 Economic and social governance under Jawara .............................................. 53 4.4.3 The 1994 Coup and Jawara’s defeat ................................................................ 54 4.5 Political developments under Jammeh ......................................................................... 55 4.5.1 Economic and social developments under Jammeh ........................................ 58 4.6 The 2016 presidential election ..................................................................................... 60 4.7 ECOWAS intervention in the Gambian political crisis ............................................... 64 4.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER FIVE.............................................................................................................................. 67 5. Comparison