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University of Bradford Ethesis CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Bradford Scholars University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. INDIGENISING POST-WAR STATE RECONSTRUCTION The Case of Liberia and Sierra Leone By: Samuel Gbaydee Doe SUBMITTED TO: The School of Social and International Studies In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Peace Studies 2009 University of Bradford Bradford, United Kingdom Keywords: Post-war, state reconstruction, peacebuilding, Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, indigenous, sodality, institutions, Poro society, Sande ABSTRACT Current approaches to post-war state reconstruction are primarily dominated by the liberal peace thesis. These approaches tend to ignore the indigenous institutions, societal resources and cultural agencies of post-conflict societies, although such entities are rooted in the sociological, historical, political and environmental realities of these societies. Such universalised and ‘best practice’ approaches, more often than not, tend to reproduce artificial states. The Poro and Sande are the largest indigenous sodality institutions in the ‘hinterlands’—a pejorative term attributed to rural Liberia and Sierra Leone. Both the Poro and Sande exercise spiritual, political, economic and social authority. In this thesis, I use critical realism and the case study approach to investigate: a) the extent to which the liberal peace practitioners who are leading state reconstruction in Liberia and Sierra Leone recognised the role and potential utility of the Poro and Sande institutions; b) the extent to which the Poro and Sande were engaged; and c) the implications for the quality and viability of the reconstructed states. This evidence-based research suggests that the liberal peace project sidelined indigenous institutions, including the Poro and Sande, in the post-war recovery and rebuilding exercises. The disregard for indigenous and emerging resources in the context of state reconstruction in Liberia and Sierra Leone has contributed to the resurgence of 19th century counter-hegemonic resistance from the sodality-governed interior of both countries. At the same time, the reconstructed states are drifting back towards their pre-war status quo. Authority structures remain fragmented, kleptocracy is being restored, webs of militarised patronage networks are being emboldened, and spaces for constructive dialogues are shrinking. This thesis underscores the need for indigenisation as a complementary strategy to help reverse the deterioration, and to maximise gains from massive investments in peacebuilding. Sam Doe Final Thesis UB No. 04008980 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................IX DEDICATION ...................................................................................XI MAPS, FIGURE, TABLES AND BOXES................................................ XII ACRONYMS ..................................................................................XIII CHAPTER 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................ 1 1.2 GENESIS OF THE RESEARCH ..................................................... 3 1.3 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY........................................................ 5 1.3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................... 6 1.3.2 CORE ARGUMENTS OF THE THESIS ................................................................. 7 1.4 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF THE THESIS ........................... 9 1.4.1 THE DEBATE ON INTERNAL LEADERSHIP IN STATE RECONSTRUCTION......... 11 1.4.2 PRO-INTERNATIONAL STATE RECONSTRUCTION DEBATE............................. 13 1.4.3 DEBATES ON THE STRATEGIES AND OUTCOMES ........................................... 14 1.4.4 GAPS AND CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITERATURE........................................... 17 1.4.5 JUSTIFICATIONS FOR SITUATING THE WORK IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS18 1.5 PORO, PEOPLE AND POLITICS IN LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE .20 1.5.1 SOCIAL OR EDUCATIONAL FUNCTION........................................................... 23 1.5.2 SUPERNATURAL OR RELIGIOUS FUNCTION ................................................... 24 1.5.3 POLITICAL FUNCTION ................................................................................... 25 1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................... 32 1.6.1 CRITICAL REALISM AS THEORETICAL LENS.................................................. 32 Sam Doe Final Thesis UB No. 04008980 iii 1.6.2 FRAMEWORK FOR DATA ANALYSIS.............................................................. 36 1.6.3 CASE STUDY APPROACH (CSA) ................................................................... 36 1.6.3.1 Research Focus and Units of Analysis ................................................ 38 1.6.3.2 Selecting Case Sites and Samples........................................................ 39 1.6.4 FIELDWORK .................................................................................................. 40 1.6.4.1 Data Collection Methods..................................................................... 41 1.7 ACCESS AND ETHICAL CHALLENGES ...................................... 46 1.7.1 ACCESS CHALLENGES .................................................................................. 46 1.7.2 ETHICAL CHALLENGES ................................................................................. 48 1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE WORK .................................................. 51 1.9 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS.................................................... 53 CHAPTER 2 2.1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................... 55 2.2 NATURE OF THE STATE .......................................................... 56 2.3 STATEBUILDING AND SURVIVAL ............................................. 59 2.3.1 COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND NATIONBUILDING............................................. 59 2.3.1.1 Nationbuilding: A Working Definition ................................................ 59 2.3.1.2 African State and the Nationbuilding Project ..................................... 62 2.3.1.3 Outcomes and Consequences .............................................................. 66 2.3.2 PUBLIC INSTITUTION AND SERVICE FUNCTION ............................................. 67 2.3.2.1 Public Sector: A Working Definition................................................... 67 2.3.2.2 Colonial Public Sectors....................................................................... 69 2.3.2.3 Bureaucracy in Post-independence Africa.......................................... 71 2.3.2.4 Persistent Explanations for Bureaucratic Decay in Africa................. 74 2.3.3 GUARANTOR OF SECURITY ........................................................................... 78 2.3.3.1 Security: A Working Definition ........................................................... 78 2.3.3.2 Security in Post-independent Africa.................................................... 79 2.4 STATE COLLAPSE: CAUSES AND MANIFESTATIONS .................. 84 Sam Doe Final Thesis UB No. 04008980 iv 2.5 CONCLUSION ......................................................................... 88 CHAPTER 3 3.1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................... 90 3.2 GEOPOLITICAL CONTEXTS OF LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE .... 91 3.2.1 PEOPLE AND DEMOGRAPHY.......................................................................... 92 3.2.1.1 Demographic Composition.................................................................. 93 3.2.1.2 Reasons for Migration......................................................................... 95 3.3 PRE-COLONIAL POLITICAL ORDER ......................................... 97 3.3.1 STATE-LESS POLITICAL SYSTEMS ................................................................. 97 3.3.2 STATE-BASED POLITICAL SYSTEMS ............................................................ 100 3.4 THE BIRTH OF THE WESTPHALIAN STATE IN SIERRA LEONE AND LIBERIA................................................................................. 106 3.4.1 FOUNDATIONS OF LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE.......................................... 108 3.4.1.1 Political Idea of Liberia and Sierra Leone........................................ 109 3.4.1.2 Constitutional Orders........................................................................ 111 3.4.1.3 Hinterland Structure of Governance................................................. 114 3.4.1.4 Consolidating State Regime in Sierra Leone..................................... 116 3.5 PORO AND THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL............................ 119 3.5.1 COLLISIONS BETWEEN STATE AND PORO POLITICAL AUTHORITY BUILDING.... ................................................................................................................... 119 3.5.2. COLLISIONS BETWEEN PORO AND OTHER RELIGIONS................................. 123 3.6 NEO-PATRIMONY AND KLEPTOCRACY IN LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE .......................................................................................... 124 3.6.1 DECLINE OF NEO-PATRIMONY,
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