The Evolution of Deadly Conflict in Liberia: From 'Paternaltarianism' to State Collapse

Levitt (Florida International U. College of Law) documents and analyzes the root, operational, and catalytic causes of 18 internal deadly conflicts in the African country of Liberia from its founding in 1822 through the fall of the Charles Taylor regime in 2003, paying particular attention to the Great War (1989-1997). He argues that the authoritarian political apparatus introduced by the American Colonization Society and inherited by the colonizing settlers?mostly freed American slaves and their descendants?conflicted with the principles upon which the native village-states were based, permanently institutionalizing ethnopolitical conflict between settlers and native Liberians. Thus, he concludes, "Liberia's legacy of violent conflict is inextricably linked to its traditions of nationalism and authoritarianism." Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR