Contrary to the general conviction, collaboration with ex-commanders and their informal networks can actually promote postwar stability. When former generals are integrated into the post-conflict societal structure as brokers of socioeconomic service and mediators between governing elites and former combatants, they can help to provide security and stability. In th...

Epidemics and institutional responses to them reveal the strengths and weaknesses of health systems. They also often engender and reflect existing political, economic and social tensions whenever and wherever they occur. This policy note outlines some of acute and chronic political and social conditions that have facilitated transmission and continue to pose a chal...

The evidence is incontrovertible that Liberia (with its two civil wars, 1989-97 and 2000-03) and Sierra Leone (with its 1991-2001 war) have emerged from two of the most inhuman, ferocious and cruel conflicts in the post-Cold war era. The scale of destruction, rape, mayhem, arson and torture perpetrated during these wars was among the greatest in Africa’s postcoloni...

This study explores the historical development of the Liberian labor market with a particular focus on young men and women. It asks, what constitutes and shapes the Liberian labour market? By looking at labour mobilization and the structure of the (in)formal labour market – both in peace and war – our understanding of the contemporary Liberian labour marketis subst...