Dynamics and Political Economy of Contemporary Civil Wars

Narratives of contemporary civil wars have been skewed and dominated with war-centric analyses: motives and actions of warlords, casualty data, relationship between belligerents, the role of UN and peacekeeping forces in the wake of conflict, etc. This study highlights the political economy of “regional security complexes” and the wider dynamics of contemporary conflicts. It highlights, in particular, the role of external actors, in intrastate conflicts in West Africa, essentially with a focus on the Liberian and Sierra Leonean conflicts at two levels: sub-regional and extra-regional. Of particular importance are the interventions of ECOWAS and the UN or the larger international community, and the diplomatic efforts of Great Powers, particularly the US and UK. It highlights the significance, impact, setbacks of ECOMOG peacekeeping operations, spearheaded by Nigeria, the UN peacekeeping missions, complementarity between the two and collaboration – or the lack thereof and in some instances collusion – among various local and external actors and how these impacted on the dynamics of the conflicts, how they aided or hindered their timely resolution.