Outsiders Inside the State. Post-Conflict Liberia between Trusteeship and Partnership

Abstract

The essay explores how the statebuilding intervention in Liberia produces a situation in which the locus for public authority is unclear and lines of responsibility and accountability are difficult to pinpoint. It does so by zooming in on one particular element in the intervention – the Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program – and concludes that the opacity surrounding this programme risks defeating the wider liberal objectives of the statebuilding intervention.

Keywords:

• statebuilding
• governance
• accountability
• post-conflict intervention
• Liberia

Notes

1. A clear case in point can be found at the GEMAP website's section for Frequently Asked Questions that includes the question of whether ‘GEMAP is a violation of Government of Liberia's sovereignty’. The answer is ‘Not at all … GEMAP will ultimately enable Liberia more control over its affairs’ (GEMAP 2008a).

2. The CPA also contained provisions on transitional justice, security sector reform and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants of all forces. These processes are key elements in statebuilding interventions, yet are excluded from the analysis here for reasons of brevity and clarity.

3. Author's interview with Liberian member of parliament in Monrovia, May 2008. See also New York Times 2003.

4. UNMIL replaced a smaller vanguard force led by ECOWAS. ECOWAS had played a key role in brokering the peace and was commended by the UN Security Council for its role.

5. Author's interview with representatives of the donor community, Monrovia, May 2008.

6. The International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) was established in 2002 to provide a coordinated international and regional response to the civil war. Members are: United Nations, ECOWAS, African Union, World Bank, United States, Ghana, Nigeria, United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden.

7. After some initial discussion, it was agreed that the experts could be of Liberian descent. In some agencies, the international experts have thus been drawn from the Liberian diaspora.

8. Liberian members of the committee include the ministers of finance, planning and justice, the governor of the central bank and the chairs of the two commissions that were established in CPA to oversee governance reform and contracts and monopolies. In addition, the Liberian civil society has one representative at the EGSC. On the international side, members include local heads of AU, EC, ECOWAS, Ghana, IMF, Nigeria, UN, US and WB.

9. The chart is prepared by the author and reflects the institutions for which ‘GEMAP reports’ and ‘GEMAP work plans’ can be found on the GEMAP website: www.gemapliberia.org.

10 The GEMAP agreement stipulates that bulletins of EGSC meetings shall be publicly available. This is done through the GEMAP website.

11. Author's interview with representatives of the donor community, Monrovia, May 2008.

12. Author's interview with representatives of the donor community, Monrovia, May 2008.

13. Author's interview with Liberian Member of Parliament and representatives of the donor community, Monrovia, May 2008

14. Author's interview with former member of the NTGL, Monrovia, May 2008.

15. The EGSC Deputy Chair, the US Ambassador, chaired that particular meeting. According to information received during the Author's interviews in Monrovia prior to the June 2008 meeting, this is unusual. The Liberian President has chaired all previous EGSC meetings since taking office in January 2006.

16. Author's interviews with a Liberian member of the EGSC and a representative of the donor community, Monrovia, May 2008.

17. Author's interviews with representatives of the donor community and Liberian participants to, and observers of, GEMAP, Monrovia, May 2008. See also GEMAP 2008a.

18. Author's interviews with Liberian and international participants to GEMAP, Monrovia, May 2008.

19. Author's interview with a Liberian political analyst, Monrovia, May 2008.