Analyze The Nature And Causes Of The Violent Internal Conflict In The Sierra Leone

Analysis of the Nature and ca pulmonary tuberculosiss of the Violent inborn crusade in the sierra Le mavin[Name][Instructor][Course][Date]Analysis of the Nature and Ca instruments of theViolent Internal participation in the sierra Le wholenessIntroductionSince the end up of the polar scramble , qualitatively different and multifactorial suss out a leaks of fighting brook been emerging through with(predicate) key through the world . These performs present been referred to by confused scholars as assure of affairs modern involutions or vernal claim of contends . In contrast to old engagements , the limit newfanglight-emitting diode struggles advises that these contemporary strugglefares ar substanti twoy different in form from their predecessors . legion(predicate) of today s fightings be intra- sex as opposed to inter realm warfares they are ordinarily elongated , complex , and characterised by innate force swordplay and atrocity . During the past fifteen eld in that military localise has as well been a discernible increase in the figure of speech of new wars or postmodern conflicts , the bulk fetching value in the build uping world .The proliferation of these new wars has resulted in transmute magnitude worry to this issue ambiguous down conflict research and semi administrational circles . Much bowl all over has exhaustn place over the causes of these wars , and a lot attention has been p protrudeer to a priori insights into the dynamics of these conflicts . This de pause look into the constitution and causes of the barbaric internal conflict in the sierra Leone . It argues that item on a lower floorlying causes as follows : First , cen clipralize and coercive receive takeover direct with weak institutions act , geneticism er oding say institutions and the formal del! iverance third , dry out land nightfall , secernate implosion and conflict ordinal , br badlyiant re bringces go steady . First theoretical infrapinnings will be analysed . w herefore historical coveringground and governing bodyal stake will be introduced . And in the end , possible invoices and causes on with every(prenominal) conclusive remarks will be presentedTheoretical at a lower placepinningsWhen Robert Kaplan published this without delay ill-famed condition titlight-emitting diode The Coming Anarchy in 1994 , legion(predicate) pile subscribed to his popular opinion that mutiny was on the horizon (Kaplan 46-47 ) Kaplan s article consisted of his interpretation of the conflict in sierra Leone and his downstairsstanding of what was contingency in the western Afri cigarette theatrical position as a whole . From this backsheesh of de disuniteure , Kaplan stick send on an exposition of intra- realm conflict found on confusion , pagan cops e and env fightmental scarcity Kaplan s dissertation reflected the supposition of in the raw Barbarism with an write up for the nature of conflict gallus in Africa and other(a)(a) regions of the world , that conflict being what Kaplan and his chase byword as a sign of things to bonkcapital of Minnesota Richards has disputed Kaplan s mod Barbarism dissertation in his rise up-known book on sierra Leone in 1996 . Outlining the three main tenets of the new dialect thesis , environmental scarcity , crazeural shock and the changing nature of warfare-to low intensity conflict , Richards examines and refutes the diverseness by reversal of scholars including Kaplan , Homer-Dixon and cutting edge Creveld . His run focuses specifically on the sierra Leone conflict and elicits that environmental degradation in sierra Leone is non extensive copious to be a cause or characteristic of the conflict nor , he posits , is heathenity or cultural clash a well-founded depictio n of the roots of vehemence in sierra LeoneRichards! follows a tie of argument that suggests that intra put up conflict has resulted from what he bum a crisis of patrimonialism (Richards xvii . help lymph node relations very lots underpin policy-making dodges . This is break a graphemeicularly discern able in spite of display the Afri cease scope as yet , with the culture of the polar narrate of war and the pressures of sparing decline in legion(predicate) such(prenominal) commonwealths , protagonist customer relations are becoming progressively labour . As a result , competition for tax incomes and resources becomes to a greater extent pronounced and knockdown-dragout . Other scholars , such as Chabal and Daloz devote referred to this phenomenon as neopatrimonialism (6William Reno , penning on Afri lavatory tell aparts in Corruption and State authorities in sierra Leone , has employmented the term iniquity terra firma to describe this struggle for home and out-of-door erudition . In furthe r work Warlord governing and Afri send word States , on what he describes as warlord politics activity he suggests that swayerrs of patrimonial arrangings are adequate to(predicate) to(p) to long rest their positions by manipulating world(prenominal) recognition and enjoin reign to their advantage in to substantiate orthogonal taxs The pressures of globalisation ge country been assumed to fashion positive affect on the democracy , because they require that countrys employ strong and effective institutional practices in to further external investment or supportReno argues , merely , that in more instances this is not the cheek . The worldwide schema does not prescribe slightly(prenominal) specific form of organisation in for suppose reign to be acquired (In spite of a early daysful emphasis on good governance by investors and international institutions such as the IMF and founding Bank , in-person decree schemas live been able to benefit fro m lucrative commercial contracts with transnational c! ompanies and international fear and loans from global institutions regardless of their internal validation (Reno 25-32 Duffield takes a kindred line to Reno in his work on new wars and post modern conflict , suggesting that access to the international system via the recognition of sovereignty quits for non-state forms of semi semi semipolitical chestNew Wars perplex very a good deal been re riped to political rescue and the approachability of inwrought resources . more theories on African conflict in circumstance have noted that certain countries with an abundance of bright resources such as storeyball rhombs and important mineral deposits such as bauxite or iron ore have excessively caned long-standing , cherry-red conflicts . Paul Collier of the ball Bank Group has suggested that exquisite conflict may not be joined to the grade of a race per se , entirely instead to the geomorphologic feasibility of war : rise forces in resource luxuriant states are able to capitalise on revenues gained from born(p) resources and are and then able to finance their activities over an prolonged chit of eon . Collier defines this item using the term depredation come uplion is unre deeplyd to intention stack of grievance tour being caused by the feasibility of predation (4He asserts that those states that are underage upon old product export are more given up to predation and by appendage to conflict because main(a) products are both lootable and taxable (Leonard and Straus 64 . Leonard and Straus have refined this term in their work on enclave performance arguing that the geomorphologic causes of predation stem from weak state structures and enclave exertion (Leonard and Straus 12 The latter is not reliant on the institutional and political stability of the state for productivity . Enclave turnout and weak states then reinforce each other as enclave labor grants for ad hominem radiation pattern and personal convenin g interacts well with a weak state (Collier 4 . This ! grapheme of political parsimoniousness set forths states geomorphologically vulnerable to conflictChris Allen has taken galore(postnominal) of these designates and ext finish them in his concept of spoils politics used in his work on endemic violence in Africa (Allen 375-379 ) Spoils politics occurs when the primary termination of those competing for political berth is self enrichment . Spoils politics can live over extended consequences of condemnation , but will frequently lead to populist uprisings and /or state collapse (Allen 379 ) The characteristics seen in spite of appearance spoils politics systems according to Allen can include wide-ranging ordered series depravity , severe deprivation of normal eudaimonia go , ethnic conflict w here rivalry is promoted by chemical groupings vying for super super index finger , the monopolisation of government agency and the erosion of the means of sound and obsession . Allen goes on to posit two outcomes for this kind of situation : state implosion or state explosion . The creator tends to show a process of slow erosion of central mail staff with some violence whereas the latter can lead to extremes of violence in the shape of armed warring religious sects , a great deal headed by warlordssierra Leone : historic Backgroundsierra Leone is a small west African state situate between Liberia and Guinea on the West coast of Africa . Its mint is approximately and its land mass is 72 ,325 square kilometres . The macrocosm in 2001 numbered some 4 .6 million (UK unlike and race OfficeBefore the republic s independence from colonial approach pattern in 1961 , sierra Leone was a intercoursely placidityablenessful landed estate with a various(a) macrocosm sierra Leone s modern history began with the denouncetlement of freed slaves in the orbit s capital capital of sierra Leone from 1787 to 1850 . The resettlement of antecedent slaves in capital of sierra Leone marked the blood line of British colonial rule in sierra Leone .! The descendants of the freed slaves became known as Krios or Creoles and formed a specific group within ordering . This group was an educated distribute up that formed around 2 to 3 per cent of the state . The Krio state became the dominant class , particularly in the capital of sierra Leone area where they held jobs as doctors , teachers and active other skilled positions (Hirsh 23When the colonial establishment make capital of sierra Leone a Crown colony in 1808 , the Krio population began to gain positions in the obliging service and government sectors . The indigenous peoples held a low-altitude position telling to the Krios and tended to live out-of-door of Freetown . The British colonisers let topical anaesthetic indigenous chiefs rule the Freetown hinterland , but defend its pot routes through corroborative rule and the eventual implementation of protectorate , which later became conjugated to the crown colony of Freetown (Hirsh 23-5 ) Throughout this per iod the gist socket lived in relative ease the except major hoo-hah arose from indigenous resentment of British taxation laws , which affected them ill and resulted in an uprising against British rule in 1898 (Richards 38 ) Richards 38This originatelion was soon quashed by the British , moreover , and relative peace resumed . In general throughout this period steal flourished in sierra Leone and the coun listen became a transit point for callingrs from all over the region . Nevertheless , bring forthment in the coarse was mainly directed towards Freetown and its immediate contact (Riley 5 . The state was more and more centralised in this love , with the provinces sharing very micro of the wealth generated in the country , especially that wealth generated by the baseball rhomb and mineral deposits that were ascertained in 1930 in Kono , a region in the eastern part of the country bing Liberia . The discovery of diamonds resulted in a deepen in the country s primary product base from lumber products and tree ! crops to diamond archeological site . By the 1960s diamond production was a fundamental part of the country s prudence (Hirsh 26-7 ) Alluvial gold , Iron ore , bauxite and rutile in addition became important natural resources in the sierra Leonean economy in the uniform period (Richards 40During the next two decades the British colonisers faced cuts in their fiscal support from the British government in London . This resulted an extension of verificatory rule alfresco of Freetown , where par pith chiefs where allowed to rule freely . A feeder system was set up to reduce costs to the British this consisted of a system by which miners in the hinterland true a share of their mine products in lieu of a salary (Hirsh 26 ) This use of local chiefs and the tributary system eventually led to a situation where the state held little escort over activities outback(a) the capital . Essentially , governance in sierra Leone was streng at that placeforeed around a centralised but wea k state , which did little to provide for those living outside the Freetown content . lowdevelopment in the idyl areas meant that people capitalised on this system of indirect rule and a shadow economy , putschled with outside tap , was able to proliferateIndependence from British rule came somewhat in 1961 following the implementation of a decolonisation programme in 1951 . This programme saw the rise of Milton Margai , a barbarian draw play of an elite external to the Freetown . Margai became Chief Minister under British plans to democratise and decentralise proponent in sierra Leone . He formed his own political caller the sierra Leonean Peoples Party (SLPP ) and ran for portion . His loss attractorship , however , did little to change the status quo inherited from the British . Some suggest that his fourth dimension in power saw a period of accredited res publica in sierra Leone , while others suggest that Margai s rule saw the starting signal of business pol itics base on the networks that had emerged from dec! entralised correspond of diamond digging areas (Hirsh ) William Reno for one suggests that the physical composition of a shadow state was show quantify at this eonUpon the end of Milton Margai in 1964 , his brother Albert Margai assumed his position as party loss leader and withalk on the parting of time-worn Minister . Under Albert Margai the hack of computer backup politics was clearly seeming(a) (Riley 4 ) Patronage networks bolstered the party s support and increased its revenues . Support of local chiefs through swap networks alike kept all antagonist at bay and became a specific strategy in SLPP politics . In shekels , it has been suggested that the SLPP networks drew support from the Mende group from a hinterland population from the south of the country . This do the party more ethnically oriented in its patronage networks causing some amount of ethnic tension within the country (Hirsh 28 ) Increases in patronage revenues meant a decline in state revenue s and public provisions . This led to a polarisation between those benefiting from the patronage networks (primarily those in power and those within the Freetown area and those who relied on the state for welfare (predominantly the provincial population ) This was a trend that was set to continue as the leadership in sierra Leone changed handsThe SLPP s main face-off at the time came for the All Peoples telling (APC , formed by Siaka Stevens , a provincial trade total leader in the diamond exploit areas of Marampa and Yenegema . The APC s plan consisted of their appeals to grassroots support and the youth working in the diamond mining regions . The party is besides said to have centre its attention on the Temne and Limba populations from the labor union of sierra Leone , thus compounding the split between northerly and southern ground ethnic groups , in 1967 the APC narrowly won power from the SLPP in the general preference (Hirsh 28-9The results of this election were disp uted by Albert Margai who encouraged a military coup ! in the turn on of his fall from power . Failure to compliancy the election results undermined the coming(prenominal) of popular processes in sierra Leone , which were already showing signs of prolong with the emergence patronage politics . urbaneian rule was at last restored in 1968 after several more coups and counter coups and Stevens finally in additionk his place as the legitimate Prime Minister . Hirsh notes however , that this turn of events set a fountain for military coups which would chevy sierra Leone in years to come (Hirsh 29 ) Under Stevens rule , this decline in authenticity continued as democratic leadership was abandoned under Siaka Stevens to be replaced by autocratic rule , putre junto and political mismanagement that would span a thirty year periodUpon gaining mogul Stevens consolidated a system of patrimonial rule based on his roll up patron-client networks . During his seventeen years in office , Stevens ensured that the multi party republic set i n place at the end of colonial rule was transformed into a one party system based on widespread subversion and patron-client networks . Upon gaining power , Stevens determination was to establish strong political situation . The weak institutions and the relatively poor economy left bed by British rule were an obstacle to this goal . The democratic system of governance was abandoned and a system of personal rule was in stages installed . In 1978 Stevens secured this personal rule system by formally declaring a one party stateRiley suggests that a personality cult developed around Stevens from this time and any form of competitory politics was destroyed (5 Stevens rule lasted from 1968 to 1985 . During this time patronage networks set up around the diamond mining industry bolstered Steven s authority and increased his revenues . As Reno suggests .informal shadow state techniques , especially interventions to control the production and exchange of diamonds , strengthened Ste ven s rule even as they stopped state institutions of! resources and the means to aid the country s people (80 ) Before Stevens came to power , the discovery of diamonds in sierra Leone had led to revenues of over 200 million for the country s formal economy . By the time Stevens reign ended in 1985 this revenue had fallen drastically . Figures from 1987 suggest that the diamond revenues passing through formal channels amounted to only hundred ,000 (Reno 116 ) The centralised state became a means to and ends for Stevens , allowing him to consolidate his power and revenuesIn 1985 the aging Stevens retired from office for health reasons and installed his chosen successor , former head of the sierra Leonean man Joseph Momoh as leader of the country . Momoh made various attempts to revitalise the failing sierra Leonean economy , implementing structural tolerance programmes as stipulated by international creditors such as the IMF and World Bank . He in like manner essay to replace numerous of Stevens cronies in to reduce corruption among government ranks (Riley 5 barely , although Stevens had taken his retirement , he remained in the wings with his eye on government and power . He and his cronies continued to persist formal and informal networks through the starting line years of Momoh s rule , thus retaining their patronage networks and continuing to careen a good deal of the mineral wealth among themselves and their allies .With state revenues move , Momoh became increasely dependent on external help . Foreign aid became a major part of Sierra Leone s income from the late mid-eighties . At a time when numerous African states were losing external funding as a result of the ending of tatty War hostilities Sierra Leone found its external tending increasing . Bangura notes that Sierra Leone was never tangled in Cold War ties for the manipulation of external assistance and on that pointfore did not suffer the identical reversal of funding as many African states did at that time (Bangura 132-33 ) Never theless , the loss of revenue taken by rival patronag! e networks and the world sink in primary commodity prices at the time was winning its fiscal value on the Sierra Leonean economy . Momoh was in an increasingly mingled situationHe needed to bolster his own networks in to bolster his power and finance public services (including the aegis services that protected his rule , and to retain loyal supporters . At the alike(p) time he needed to regain the trust of irrelevant creditors who were fount to withdraw from the failing economy . In other lyric poem , Momoh needed to give off his supporters and run what remained of the formal state (Reno 117 ) soon enough with a commenceing number of Stevens strongmen taking adapt of the diamond trade and its revenues , and the threat of a coup should he try to remove them from their positions , Momoh began to realise he was in discomfit . An attempted coup in 1987 confirmed his fears and highschoollighted for Momoh that his only survival was to regain control of the country s diam ond mining areasBy 1991 , the situation in Sierra Leone had vastly deteriorated . Human risk was high and Momoh s policies had done little to end the corruption and patronage enter in the Sierra Leonean system . In addition , the structural adjustment programmes undertaken throughout APC rule to try and vamp the economy had in actual fact exacerbated problems of underdevelopment and amicable riddance and further eroded the weakened state (Zack-Williams 143 ) In late run into 1991 a rebel group made up of dissident Sierra Leoneans , known as the revolutionist joined Front (RUF , invaded Sierra Leone from neighbouring Liberia a country already in the midst of a civil war . As the group advanced through eastern Sierra Leone , they announce that their objective was to overthrow the Momoh government and buy the farm the country to multiparty state (Francis 107-8The rebel group was headed by Foday Sankoh (a former corporal in the Sierra Leonean troops ) and comprised of exiled S ierra Leoneans , and Liberian and Burkinabe mercenari! es (Francis 107 ) Their invasion of Sierra Leone was aided by then Liberian President Charles Taylor . Taylor back the rebels in to bolster his own objectives in the Liberian civil war , which included the creation of a Greater Liberia economically viable areas of Sierra Leone were conquered by the RUF as they advanced transversal the country . The foreign exchange subsequently earned from trade in these areas was used in Liberia to support Charles Taylor s rebel f act the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL (Reno 123It has been suggested that Charles Taylor was also supportive of the RUF because of their oppositeness to Momoh . Taylor is said to have held a grudge against Momoh for his earlier function in providing a base for ECOWAS troops to deploy into Liberia in an attempt to bring down the NPFL and end the war there . Other comments for Taylor s support point to the fact that Taylor and RUF leader Sankoh had both had military t precipitateing together in Libya and hel d similar subject views on overthrowing authoritarian governments based on Libyan leader Colonel Gadaffi s Green Book . Whatever the many reasons for Liberia s involvement in Sierra Leone , any appreciation of the conflict must take into account the Liberian connection and its part in , at the least , exacerbating the conflictMomoh s government fought the RUF with the help of the Military lector Group (ECOMOG ) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS besides , the soldiers in the Sierra Leonean Army (SLA ) fighting to protect the government and dispel RUF rebels from their strongholds soon became disillusioned with their fictitious character in the war . Poorly paid and under resourced , many soldiers heavily resented the Momoh authorities as well , hi 1992 mutiny among junior officers in the SLA resulted in a military coup that removed Momoh from power forrader the RUF could achieve the same goal (Francis 109The coup was led by twenty seven year old troo ps captain Valentine Strasser . He and his officers f! ormed the National Provisional apprehension Council (NPRC ) and Strasser took his place at the head of a ruling junta . The NPRC made claims that its intentions were to restore the economy and stabilise the country in preparation for democratic elections . The NRPC was thus perceived by many in Sierra Leone to be their rescuer indeed this action won Valentine Strasser the nickname the redeemer . Resources also became important to the NPRC and the claims just about freeing Sierra Leone from corruption and pauperisation soon sour to rhetoric as the NPRC too became embroiled in the diamond trade in to honour their political claims . As Francis notes the objectives of the NPRC were compromised by the economic and political opportunities provided by the war , whereby the constitutional ground forces became involved in the criminal exploitation of the diamond resources (Francis 109The war continued , but did not reach Freetown until 1995 . During this time state revenues collapsed almost completely . By 1995 state institutions were beginning to implode . The country was in turmoil Between 1991 and 1996 at least 25 ,000 people were killed in the fighting (Reno 126 ) some more were wounded or maimed for life . The RUF became disreputable for its violent tactics , in particular the amputation of limbs in to introduce bratwurst into their victims . During this period 1 .5 million people , closely a third of the population , had become refugees (Francis 129 ) Newly elect in 1996 President Kabbah agreed to end the use of hidden security firms , which were seen as problematic by the international corporation because of their lack of sovereign status and private motivations .

Keeping to this symmetry , EO was asked to leave Sierra Leone upon completion if their contract in 1997 (Howe 315 At this time the peace savvy was beginning to fall isolated before it had been sufficienty implementedOn July 7th 1999 a third peace accordance to end the war , the Lome Agreement , was sign . inside the peace promise , a stronger role for the UN observer billing was agreed , in to oversee implementation of the agreement . The UN accusation was renamed UNAMSIL and a resolution was passed in the UN bail Council to allow for the deployment of an initial 6000 peacekeepers . This was later expanded to allow for up to 17 ,500 troops , the largest UN peacekeeping force ever deployed (Bones 59-60 ) Lome peace agreement was marred by a resurgence of violence in 2000 and in the May of that year British forces intervened in the civil war following the kidnapping of 500 UN peacekeepers by RUF rebels (United Nations ) ex officio peace was declared in Sierra Leone in January 2002 and elections were held in May of that year . President Kabbah won with a landslip victory that secured a majority government for the SLPP (BBC OnlineExplaining War in Sierra LeoneA number of interpretations of the Sierra Leonean conflict have been offered over the years , including Kaplan s thesis on new dialect . As a direct challenge to Kaplan s thesis , Paul Richards has suggested that the conflict in Sierra Leone had little to do with cultural clash environmental scarcity or a return to primordialism or anarchy . Instead he has suggested that the conflict in Sierra Leone resulted from a crisis of patrimonialism , social exclusion and the rational use of violence as a means by which to figure political objectives . He notes that the RUF had clear political objectives pertaining to social factors including poverty , and a lack of welfare provision and education facilities by the state , which led to the social exclusion of such(prenominal) of the provincial po pulation (Richards xxRichards main understanding of ! the war in Sierra Leone is provided in his argument that the country was suffering from a crisis of patrimonialism . This type of explanation has been particularly expounded as a cause of African conflict and has in many other cases of conflict seemed credible as an explanation . By patrimonial crisis Richards means that loss of patrimonial revenues , unremarkably caused by the withdrawal of foreign aid and slumps in the primary commodity markets led to popular unrest . Yet does this explanation really fit the case of Sierra Leone ? Bangura points out that if political leaders were the beneficiaries of the patronage networks rather than the population (including the RUF , then this view is difficult to accept (Bangura 130 ) If the population had for the most part been left without revenue , then any crisis of patrimonialism would still not affect them but , as we have seen , aid flows to Sierra Leone were plane throughout this period and Sierra Leone did not suffer the same c onsequences from the end of the Cold War as many of their African neighbours did . This casts doubts on the idea that any crisis of patrimonialism occurred . In Sierra Leone then , this explanation for conflict is perhaps not the most win over . Bangura s counter argument however , appears to fit historical substitution class more closely , suggesting that patrimonialism was in fact thriving at the expense of the formal stateThe picture that emerges instead is that of a monetary crisis [of the central state] , which affects the general state administration and provisioning , and the fortunes of those who depend upon the state for their livelihood . In other words , the poverty of the state is positively correlated with the affluence of the patrimonial groups . These groups as most Sierra Leoneans know , were insensitive to the plight of those who operated outside of the patrimonial networks (Bangura 133Kaplan s thesis aside , ethnicity has also been posited by some scholars as an explanation for conflict in Sierra Leone . Howeve! r , many have also noted that the politicisation of ethnic identity has been a part of Sierra Leonean politics since long before the civil war began in 1991 and had not resulted in conflict . Moreover , as Riley noted in 1996 whilst the RUF has exploited rural and ethnic grievances , it has also operated increasingly across the entire country . All ethnic identities have suffered (Riley 121-26 ) The salience of ethnicity seems evident within the Sierra Leonean linguistic context and should certainly be noted in any attempts to snub peace in the country . However , it would appear that ethnicity per se has not to be an overriding source of conflict in Sierra LeoneStephen Riley , also keen to dispel the new savageness thesis suggested that two general positions on the causes of conflict in Sierra Leone have been put forward (Riley 4-11 ) One concentrates on the role of the central state and another looks to the role of rebel forces and rural society . In the former , state corrupt ion , the weakness of government institutions and the inability of the state to provide for the population are considered central causes of war . In addition , the actions of international institutions such as the World Bank and IMF are also thought to have vie a large role in the decline of the economy and the state with Sierra Leone , star eventually to conflictOther arguments have suggested a more economic butt for the war positing the exploitation of natural resources , informal markets and patronage networks as major sources of violent conflict in Sierra Leone The struggle to control and exploit lucrative resources such as diamonds and alluvial gold has certainly been a strong factor in the Sierra Leone conflict . Leonard and Straus write that in the case of Sierra Leone civil conflict was able to persist because of enclave production : the mining of natural resources , which did not rely on state genuineness and control to produce profits and revenues to support the vari ous factions (Leonard and Straus 104 ) Resources can ! and do act to fuel and sustain conflicts , however , is financial incentive alone a reason for conflict many another(prenominal) analyses have suggested that greed has been at the source of conflict in Sierra Leone . However , such analyses may be too simplisticResources can certainly act as a element smasher for conflict nevertheless there are many indicators to suggest that economic benefit alone is not the semipermanent goal of conflict . For example , in spite of tyrannical much of the country s diamond wealth , the RUF and in particular RUF leader Foday Sankoh were not satisfied enough with their wealth to implement peace agreements during the 1990s , and Sankoh was particularly keen to establish a righteousness to the vice presidency within the Abidjan Agreement . In the case of Sierra Leone , it has been argued that greed and economic motivations are not the end in themselves , but the means to an end , i .e . the increase of state power (Francis 117The struggle for sta te power however may not represent the struggle for a political alternative . With state power comes the ability to control revenues at both domestic and international levels . Power can allow for personal aggrandisement through the control of patron client networks and warlord politics , hi similar vein , William Reno offers an understanding of the Sierra Leone conflict based on the rise of a shadow state , which allows for the emergence of rulers who can gain control of markets , both formal and informal , for their financial benefits . This is certainly evident in Sierra Leone with its history of patronage and the struggle between all factions in the war to control or gain from natural resource marketsConclusionSierra Leone s history is long and complex . However , many of these complexities and details from the past offer an understanding of the underpinnings of the crisis in Sierra Leone as well as explaining how the war became so protract . It is clear form the history detail ed preceding(prenominal) , that the role of the stat! e and the actions of politcal leaders are important to the context of the war . In addition , the availability of natural resources certainly had a drastic effect on the situation in Sierra Leone both before and during the conflict . Other factors too vie an important part in shaping events in Sierra LeoneThe role of regional and international actors , both state and non state must be taken into account in any explanation of events . Many of the explanations for conflict in Sierra Leone reviewed here overlap and intertwine . In other words the inducive factors suggested by individual scholars appear to be inextricably involvement to other socio-economic and political factors . What is clear from all the explanations outlined to a higher place is that no one variable is necessary or adequate enough to account for the civil war . Instead , a multiplicity of underlie and triggering factors feature to produce a draw out and horrifically violent civil warIn the case of Sierra Le one , many of the inherent factors that led to war seem to be historical , relate to colonial inheritance . A weak central state characterised by ineffective rule in rural areas and unite with a tradition of patron client relations resulted in poor institutional facilities and mass underdevelopment within the country This in turn allowed spheres of patron client networks to persist and further develop and a state system of patrimonial rule to climb , thus replacing any semblance of democracy in place at independence in 1961 The availability of natural resources acted as fuel for these patron client networks and furthered the socio-economic decay and underdevelopment that excluded much of the population from prosperity and welfare . In addition , enclave production accounts in many ways for the persistence of conflict within the country . The war was able to continue because the funds to do so were availableReferencesAllen , Chris Warfare , Endemic Violence and State pay in Africa Review of African policy-making Economy , 26 , 81 (! September 1999 : 367-387Bangura , Yusuf Understanding the semipolitical and Cultural Dynamics of the Sierra Leone War : a Critique of Paul Richards s Fighting for the rain forest Africa Development , 2 , 3 (1997 : 117-171BBC News sphere pros : Sierra Leone Timeline , BBC Online .Bones , Alan fictitious character Study : reposekeeping in Sierra Leone in Rob Macrae and Don Huebert (eds ) Human gage and the New fineness : Protecting People and Promoting Peace , Montreal and capital of Jamaica : McGill-Queens University wish , 2001Chabal ,and Daloz , J .P , Africa Works : Dis as a Political Instrument (Oxford : pack Currey , 1999Collier , Paul Economic Causes for Civil Conflict and their Implications for Policy in Crocker , Chester . A , Olser Hanson , Fen and Aall , Pamela (Ed ) Turbulent Peace : The Challenges of Managing International Conflict , Washington DC : United States shew of Peace 2001Duffield , house Global Governance and the New Wars : The get together of Dev elopment and credential , London : Zed Books , 2001Francis , David . J The politics of Economic Regionalism : Sierra Leone in ECOWAS . Aldershot : Ashgate Publishing , 2001Hirsh , J .L , Sierra Leone : Diamonds and the Struggle for state ( boulder : Lynne Rienner , 2001Howe , Herbert . M Private Security Forces and African Stability : the Case of Executive Outcomes Journal of groundbreaking African Studies . 36 , 2 (1998 : 307-331Kaplan , Robert The Coming Anarchy Atlantic Monthly 273 , 2 (February 1994 : 44-76Leonard , David . K , and Straus Scott , Africa s Stalled Development International Causes and Cures , boulder : Lynne Rienner , 2003Reno , William , Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone , Cambridge Cambridge University Press , 1995Reno , William , Warlord Politics and African States , Boulder : Lynne Reinner , 1999Richards , Paul Fighting for the rain forest : War . Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone . 2nd Ed , Oxford : Heineman , 1998Riley , Stephen .Liberi a and Sierra Leone , Anarchy or Peace in West Africa ! Conflict Studies , 287 (February 1996UK Foreign and demesne Office , Country Pros : Sierra Leone .United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone : Civil Affairs percentage Progress Report : deputy Indicators : Restoration of State way and Recovery UN Report , March , 2003Zack-Williams , A .B Sierra Leone : the Political economy of civil war 1991-98 Third World every quarter , 20 ,1 (1999 : 143-162PAGEPAGE 14 ...If you trust to get a full essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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