Post-Conflict Elections in Liberia
Voter Registration, Campaigns and Results
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:12th Nov '26
£90.00
This title is due to be published on 12th November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Unpacks Liberia’s five post-conflict elections, interrogates the forces at play throughout the electoral processes, and traces changes in elections in Liberia overtime.
Covering the 1997, 2005, 2011, 2017, and 2023 elections in Liberia, this book untangles the electoral environment in which these elections took place, highlighting the economic, political, and security challenges that followed both recent civil wars and beyond. Through this exploration, the author discusses the selection of the elections management board, voter registration and education, the vetting of candidates, campaigning, voting, and the results of the electoral process. He also examines the external forces involved, such as the Economic Community of West African States, which oversaw the 1997 and 2005 elections, the African Union, the United Nations, and the United States.
Kieh argues that even after the two civil wars, the political regimes in power did not start the multidimensional process of structural transformation required in Liberia to bring democracy. Instead, the regimes focused on holding regular elections regardless of the ability for the elections to be fair with oversight that is impartial and able to enforce the election results. Examining these continued concerns, the author urges for further study on the relationship between post-conflict elections and peace-building in Liberia, positing solutions for working democracies.
A seasoned Liberian scholar. Theoretically weaving together five elections in Liberia, George Kieh presents a comprehensive study on the problematic nature of state and nation building within the country. While elections enter the fray as a means to end war and restore semblance of legitimacy to the state, these elections were all seemingly flawed in nature. Through his analysis, Kieh provides new insights into a post-World War II Liberia. This is a must-read. * D. Elwood Dunn, Retired Professor of Political Science, Sewanee: The University of the South, USA *
George Klay Kieh, Jr's book, Post-Conflict Elections in Liberia, offers an impressive and comprehensive analysis of all five of Liberia's post-conflict elections and their larger implications for peace consolidation, state building, and the transformation (or lack thereof) of the lives of everyday Liberians. This interdisciplinary book draws on various fields and disciplines from economics, political science, history, to security studies, to provide a deeper analysis of Liberian post-conflict elections. Bolstered by interviews and Kieh, Jr.'s own experiences with Liberian politics, the author examines the environment, timing, major actors, pre-election events, and the aftermath of elections in 1997, 2005, 2011, 2017, and 2023. Overall, this book should be required reading for anyone interested in post-conflict politics and peace building in Liberia. * Yolanda Covington-Ward, Professor and Chair of the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA *
ISBN: 9781498581950
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
244 pages