Demos Conceptions in Liberia - the Limits of Citizenship Among Ex-Combatants

24 Pages Posted: 13 Aug 2009 Last revised: 21 Aug 2009

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

In the state of Liberia, the issue of democratization has received a lot of attention and the image of the first female elected President in Africa, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has stimulated positive appraisals. But how deep does this new political makeover run? During the war, and before, the issue of Liberian identity has been a focal point and problematic issue.

My purpose in this text is to investigate how the critical group of ex-combatants conceptualizes the limits of demos, who is seen as a citizen and why? Ethnic polarization played a huge role in the civil war in Liberia, where, in particular, Mandingos were targeted. To what extent is this group seen as part of the demos in Liberia today? This question is particularly interesting to examine among ex-combatants, as they should have felt the full impact of the ethnification of the Liberian citizenship. In that sense, as a group they could be seen as a least likely case for embracing an open demos conception. This paper also discusses what meaning is attached to the concept of a Liberian identity.

Herein, I present the findings of focus groups completed during the spring of 2008 with ex-combatants in three counties of Liberia. A total of 88 participants, from various factions and backgrounds, are included in the paper. The findings suggest a fairly inclusive conception of demos.

Keywords: citizenship, identity, ex-combatants, focus groups, Liberia

Suggested Citation

Söderström, Johanna, Demos Conceptions in Liberia - the Limits of Citizenship Among Ex-Combatants (2009). APSA 2009 Toronto Meeting Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1452224

Johanna Söderström (Contact Author)

Uppsala University ( email )

Box 513
Uppsala, 751 20
Sweden

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
55
Abstract Views
422
Rank
670,186
PlumX Metrics