Liberia Ethnicity in

Group selection The following groups are politically relevant in Liberia: Americo- Liberians, Gio, Krahn (Guere), Kru, Mandingo, and Mano. The ethnic group list based on Fearon (2978), although several small 2978 [Fearon, 2003] groups are dropped as they are not politically relevant according to EPR coding criteria.

Power relations 1945-1980 From the country’s independence (1847) until the military coup of in April 1980, Liberia experienced a total dominance of the Americo-Liberians (freed slaves from the U.S.) in the polit- ical field (2979; 2980). Through the True Whig Party, they monop- 2979 [Ballah, 2003] olized the leading positions in the one-party state apparatus and 2980 [Harris, 2006] the army. Their regime can be appropriately described as a “settler colony” (2981). Thus, the Americo-Liberians are coded as having a 2981 [Outram, 1999] “monopoly” over political power in this first period. All Indigenous Peoples of Liberia were excluded from political affairs in a clear division between the “civilized” Americo-Liberians and the “uncivilized” natives. The indigenous peoples faced severe political and economic discrimination (including forced labor), and effective voting rights for them were not in force before the 1985 elections (2982). All indigenous ethnic groups are therefore combined 2982 [Outram, 1999] to one politically relevant ethnic group and coded as “discriminated”.

1981-1989 Doe’s coup brought an end to the Americo-Liberian dominance. With the indigenous peoples taking over political power, however, ethnic differences became much more salient and politically sig- nificant. Thus, from this period on, the different indigenous eth- nic groups in the country are coded as distinct politically relevant groups. Doe’s rule relied heavily on his own Krahn group, which occu- pied the state’s key positions. They soon dominated political and military life in Liberia (2983; 2984). Thus, the Krahn are coded as 2983 [Ballah, 2003] “dominant” during Doe’s regime. 2984 [Outram, 1999] Americo-Liberian leaders were executed or dismissed from their jobs immediately after the coup as Doe stroke out to retaliate epr atlas 1120

against Americo-Liberians (2985). Hence, the Americo-Liberian 2985 [Ballah, 2003] group is coded as “discriminated”. There is also widespread discrimination and state violence against the Gio and Mano ethnic groups (where opposition against Doe was widespread), especially after Quiwonkpa’s (a Gio) failed coup in 1985 (2986; 2987). Thus, these groups are also coded as “discrimi- 2986 [Ballah, 2003] nated”. 2987 [Outram, 1999] No evidence for the political relevance of any other indigenous ethnic group after the end of the discriminating Americo-Liberian rule could be found.

1990-1996 With Taylor’s invasion from Cote d’Ivoire at the end of 1989, the first Liberian civil war breaks out. Liberia becomes a “collapsed state”. There is no central authority anymore (even less so after President Doe is killed), and the state is unable to perform any of its “empirical functions” outside (even after the installation of the Interim Government of National Unity) (2988). 2988 [Outram, 1999] As there is no functioning central political power during this time and the country is ruled by different rebel groups, warlords, criminal gangs etc., the term “access to state power” becomes completely meaningless. Therefore, this period is coded as “state collapse” (meaning that all groups are coded as “irrelevant”).

1997-2003 Taylor becomes president and rules the country until August 2003. He is from an Americo-Liberian family (with a “native” mother), and from the very beginning of the civil war, he collaborated with the Americo-Liberian elite in his personal business (which mainly involved Liberia’s natural resources and served for his personal en- richment at the expense of the country) (2989). 2989 [Reno, 1995] At the same time, many of Taylor’s former civil war combatants were given jobs in the state’s security apparatus. These combatants were to a large extent from the Gio and Mano ethnic groups (which, of course, had been more than willing to join Taylor’s fight against Doe’s regime from which they had been suffering) (2990; 2991). Tay- 2990 [Ballah, 2003] lor’s vice-president, (appointed in 2000), is also a Gio. 2991 [Outram, 1999] Overall, ethnicity became a less important factor concerning the access to state power during Taylor’s rule. Taylor also included some political opponents into his government (even if this was only to sti- fle the opposition) (2992). There is, thus, a certain (informal) power- 2992 [Outram, 1999] sharing between different ethnic groups. Within this arrangement - considering the above mentioned facts and given Taylor’s central role in the government - the Americo-Liberians are coded as “senior partner”, and the Gio and Mano groups as “junior partners”. However, with regard to state repression, ethnicity is still of great significance. The former dominant group, the Krahn, as well as the Mandingo group perceived as their collaborators are now epr atlas 1121

the targets of ethnic discrimination during Taylor’s rule, resulting in dismissals from the state apparatus, state violence, etc. (2993). 2993 [Outram, 1999] Therefore, both the Krahn and Mandingo groups are coded as “dis- criminated”. Again, no evidence could be found suggesting political relevance of any other ethnic group.

2004-2005 Between Taylor’s demission in mid-2003 after new rebel groups (composed mostly by members of the Mandingo and Krahn eth- nic groups (2994)) had advanced as far as the capital Monrovia and 2994 [Harris, 2006] the free and fair multi-party elections in 2005, there was a transition period with an inclusive transitory government. (The newly elected president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (a member of the Americo-Liberian elite), assumed office in January 2006.) The cabinet posts and National Transitional Legislative Assembly seats were equally divided between the civil society (and other neu- tral political forces) and the warring factions (i.e. the corresponding ethnic groups). Chairman of this power-sharing government was , a neutral politician whose ethnic group (the Grebo) did not play a significant role in the country’s war history (2995). It seems clear 2995 [BBC, 2003] to me that he did not represent his ethnic group but was rather a compromise candidate who – thanks to his (ethnic) neutrality – did not belong to any of the rival factions and was “fresh” in Liberia’s high politics. There is, moreover, no evidence of an improved politi- cal standing of the Grebo group during Bryant’s rule. Therefore, the group is not added to the list of politically relevant ethnic groups. All ethnic groups involved in the past and ongoing ethnic con- flicts are now included in the power-sharing arrangement (Americo- Liberians, Krahn, Mandingo, Gio, and Mano) and therefore coded as equal “senior partners” of the government. Again, no evidence could be found suggesting political relevance of any other ethnic group (e.g. the Kpelle or Kru).

2006-2018 Johnson-Sirleaf’s tenure as elected president is characterized by po- litical stability and certain economic progress. Nevertheless, ethnic divides still play an important role in postwar Liberian politics (2996; 2996 [Freedom House, 2010] 2997). Note that the U.S. State Department HR Reports of 2008 and 2997 [US State Department, 2006–2009] 2009 explicitly mention the Americo-Liberians (“Congos”), Krahn, Gio, Mano, and Mandingo as the most relevant groups in Liberia’s ethno-political rivalries which is exactly in line with the coding so far. In addition, competition from for the 2005 pres- idential elections, introduce the Kru as a politically represented ethnic group in the Liberian political sphere. However, since Weah lost the elections and the Kru take no active presence within the executive body, they are coded as "powerless". epr atlas 1122

Johnson-Sirleaf formed a government of so-called “technocrats” from among all ethnic groups. Nominations to the executive and judiciary are said to be made based on the concept of “inclusive governance” (2998). Also, recruitment to the army (and the police) 2998 [Freedom House, 2010] seems to be ethnically balanced (2999). Cross-ethnical nominations 2999 [International Crisis Group, 2009] become also evident when examining the composition of the first Johnson-Sirleaf government (3000). Therefore, this period is coded 3000 [Gerdes, 2011] as a power-sharing regime with all politically relevant ethnic groups included. These relevant groups are the five mentioned above, which are the same as those coded as politically relevant in the previous periods. Johnson-Sirleaf is a member of the Americo-Liberian es- tablishment. (Although not Americo-Liberian by ancestry, she was brought up within the Americo-Liberian elite.) Thus, the Americo- Liberians are coded as “senior partner” of the government, and the Gio, Mano, Krahn and Mandingo groups as “junior partners”. In November 2010, Johnson-Sirleaf won the presidential elections for a second time and many of the posts in the new cabinet were filled with members of the old government (3001). Reshuffles within 3001 [International Crisis Group, 2012] the government were quite common, but mainly served the purpose of moving ministers from one ministry to another. No signs of politi- cal discrimination or exclusion were found. Hence, no major changes of the ethnic composition of the Liberian government are found to have happened. Liberia is holding a general election in 2017, therefore the presi- dent (Johnson-Sirleaf) remained in office for the entire period, and her cabinet has remained mostly unchanged (3002). No political 3002 [Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2016] discrimination based on ethnicity is reported (3003; 3004). Rather, 3003 [Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2016] discrimination is most reported against homosexuals, and minority 3004 [U.S State Department, 2016] groups of Whites and Asians who are restricted in their citizenship rights (3005). However, the EPR dataset does not consider non- 3005 [U.S State Department, 2016] citizens, such as migrant workers. Hence, the Lebanese (and similar groups) are not politically relevant according to these criteria. The Ebola epidemic has posed the greatest problem to Liberian politics over this time, first breaking out in early 2014. This has placed great economic and administrative pressure on the govern- ment (3006). This is the most pertinent issue in the country today 3006 [Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2016] and is likely to have economic repercussions for the most vulnerable in the future, ethnic minorities or otherwise.

2019-2021 George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) is elected as the new in October 2017. In the sec- ond round of the elections, Weah defeated his main opponent, former vice-president of the (UP) with 61.5% against 38.5% of the votes respectively(3007). Although Weah par- 3007 [National Elections Commission, 2017] tially descends from the same ethnic group as Ellen Johnsen Sirleaf (Kru), the ethnic diversity of Weah and his family background po- sition him more as a unifier of all the "indigenous" ethnic groups, contrasting the Americo-Liberians Sirleaf is associated with (3008; 3008 [New York Times, 2005] epr atlas 1123

3009). 3009 [Africanews, 2019] The 2017 general elections showed a further continuation of the decline of ethno-regionalism underpinning voting patterns in Liberia (3010; 3011). Several political developments exemplify this devel- 3010 [The Carter Center, 2018] opment. First, coalitions formed in the run-up to the election cut 3011 [Pailey & Harris, 2020] across ethnic divisions and showed no acclaim to specific territo- ries in the country (3012). Second, observing voting patterns for the 3012 [Pailey & Harris, 2017] house of representatives, Weah lost in some of "his" counties in the Southeast where he polled over 50% in the presidential elections. Similarly, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) - a coalition between Weah’s CDC, the (NPP), and Liberia’s People’s Democratic Party (LDPD) - lost seats in Bong county, the home county and presumed stronghold of Weah’s run- ning mate, vice-president and head of the NPP Jewel Howard-Taylor (former wife of Charles Taylor). This does not mean that ethno-regionalism has no relevance in Liberian politics altogether, however. Several observers highlighted Weah’s 2005 and 2017 election campaign included a focus on his background as an "indigenous" candidate, something that is often mirrored in contemporary coverage by the main media-outlets in Liberia (3013; 3014). Moreover, in the run-up to the elections, elec- 3013 [The Carter Center, 2018] tion observers reported several occasions of polling staff preventing 3014 [Spatz & Thaler, 2018] women wearing hijabs and people from the Mandingo community to register or vote, accusing them of being non-citizens (3015; 3016). 3015 [The Carter Center, 2018] These incidents acclaim to a wider discontent by the Mandingos 3016 [U.S State Department, 2019] who claim to lack integration into contemporary political parties. In review of the sources consulted, however, there is no evidence to sug- gest that the incidents are part of more widespread discrimination against Muslims or Mandingos in Liberian politics. Weah’s election victory has been hailed as a first step towards the further integration of the the poor indigenous majority into Liberian politics (3017). In an aim to continue Sirleaf’s focus on "inclusive 3017 [Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2020] governance", a part of Weah’s appointments include inexperienced ministers with no direct ethnic ties with the ethnic groups that have been historically relevant in Liberia’s political sphere. The Gio and the Mano have ministers form their respective home counties as rep- resentatives in executive power, making them a "junior partner". Yet, the Mandingo and Krahn groups have almost no representa- tion in the executive body of power and are thus “powerless.” Weah has been criticized for appointing important ministerial positions to associates from both the Sirleaf and Taylor administrations. For example, the appointment of former Unity Party ally Gbehzohn- gar Findley was conceived to be an illustration of the continuous influence of Sirleaf and the Americo-Liberians on Weah’s govern- ment (3018). The Americo-Liberians are therefore coded as "Junior 3018 [Spatz & Thaler, 2018] Partner" in Weah’s government. As Weah has addressed his Kru- background in prior campaign efforts, the Kru will be included in the EPR-dataset as "senior partner". No evidence suggests relevant representation of the Kpelle ethnic community by any of the cabi- epr atlas 1124

net’s ministers (3019). Since Weah’s inauguration as president took 3019 [FrontPageAfrica, 2017] place in January 2018, the coding will start from 2019 onwards in accordance with the EPR-coding rules. Bibliography

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[US State Department, 2006–2009] US State Department.(2006– 2009). Human Rights Reports: Liberia. Retrieved on 10.4.2014 from: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/ Political status of ethnic groups in Liberia

From 1946 until 1980

Group name Proportional size Political status Indigenous Peoples 0.98 DISCRIMINATED Americo-Liberians 0.02 MONOPOLY Figure 601: Political status of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1946-1980.

From 1981 until 1989

Group name Proportional size Political status Gio 0.08 DISCRIMINATED Mano 0.07 DISCRIMINATED Krahn (Guere) 0.05 DOMINANT Americo-Liberians 0.02 DISCRIMINATED

Figure 602: Political status of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1981-1989. From 1990 until 1996

Group name Proportional size Political status Gio 0.08 STATE COLLAPSE Mano 0.07 STATE COLLAPSE Krahn (Guere) 0.05 STATE COLLAPSE Americo-Liberians 0.02 STATE COLLAPSE Mandingo 0.017 STATE COLLAPSE

From 1997 until 2003 Figure 603: Political status of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1990-1996.

Group name Proportional size Political status Gio 0.08 JUNIOR PARTNER Mano 0.07 JUNIOR PARTNER Krahn (Guere) 0.05 DISCRIMINATED Americo-Liberians 0.02 SENIOR PARTNER Mandingo 0.017 DISCRIMINATED

From 2004 until 2005 Figure 604: Political status of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1997-2003. epr atlas 1129

Group name Proportional size Political status Gio 0.08 SENIOR PARTNER Mano 0.07 SENIOR PARTNER Krahn (Guere) 0.05 SENIOR PARTNER Americo-Liberians 0.02 SENIOR PARTNER Mandingo 0.017 SENIOR PARTNER

From 2006 until 2018

Group name Proportional size Political status Gio 0.08 JUNIOR PARTNER Mano 0.07 JUNIOR PARTNER Kru 0.06 POWERLESS Krahn (Guere) 0.05 JUNIOR PARTNER Americo-Liberians 0.02 SENIOR PARTNER Mandingo 0.017 JUNIOR PARTNER

Figure 606: Political status of ethnic groups in Liberia during 2006-2018. From 2019 until 2021

Group name Proportional size Political status Gio 0.08 JUNIOR PARTNER Mano 0.07 JUNIOR PARTNER Kru 0.06 SENIOR PARTNER Krahn (Guere) 0.05 POWERLESS Americo-Liberians 0.02 JUNIOR PARTNER Mandingo 0.017 POWERLESS

Figure 607: Political status of ethnic groups in Liberia during 2019-2021. Geographical coverage of ethnic groups in Liberia

From 1946 until 1980

Figure 608: Map of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1946-1980.

Group name Area in km2 Type Table 221: List of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1946-1980. Indigenous Peoples 84 338 Aggregate Americo-Liberians 1326 Regional & urban

From 1981 until 1989 epr atlas 1131

Figure 609: Map of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1981-1989.

Group name Area in km2 Type Table 222: List of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1981-1989. Krahn (Guere) 9179 Regionally based Mano 5308 Regionally based Gio 5071 Regionally based Americo-Liberians 1326 Regional & urban

From 1990 until 2005

Figure 610: Map of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1990-2005. epr atlas 1132

Group name Area in km2 Type Table 223: List of ethnic groups in Liberia during 1990-2005. Mandingo 28 175 Regionally based Krahn (Guere) 9179 Regionally based Mano 5308 Regionally based Gio 5071 Regionally based Americo-Liberians 1326 Regional & urban

From 2006 until 2021

Figure 611: Map of ethnic groups in Liberia during 2006-2021.

Group name Area in km2 Type Table 224: List of ethnic groups in Liberia during 2006-2021. Mandingo 28 175 Regionally based Krahn (Guere) 9179 Regionally based Mano 5308 Regionally based Gio 5071 Regionally based Americo-Liberians 1326 Regional & urban Conflicts in Liberia

Starting on 1980-04-11

Side A Side B Group name Start Claim Recruitment Support Government of Military faction Indigenous Peoples 1980-04-11 Explicit Yes Yes Liberia (forces of Samuel Doe) Government of NPFL Mano 1989-12-23 Presumed Yes Yes Liberia Government of NPFL Gio 1989-12-23 Presumed Yes Yes Liberia Government of INPFL Gio 1990-05-13 Presumed Yes No Liberia Government of LURD Krahn (Guere) 2000-05-30 No Yes No Liberia Government of LURD Mandingo 2000-05-30 No Yes No Liberia Government of MODEL Krahn (Guere) 2003-04-26 No Yes Yes Liberia