"What does it take to (re)build a multi-ethnic, peaceful, and democratic postcolonial state in the aftermath of a civil war? This book argues that international state-building must take civil wars as a symptom, rather than the cause of state decay. Using the cases of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire, Bah and Emmanuel bring the state back in. An excellent book!"—Oumar Ba – Cornell University
"In International Statebuilding in West Africa, Bah and Emmanual tackle a critically important but almost always overlooked question in the study of civil war and "failed states": how can states be built transformatively in the wake of civil wars? All too often, the moment of rebuilding in the wake of war focuses on patching together the state that was, typically with all their flaws and often replicating the very features that nurtured war. This book asks what might be possible if this moment was utilized to imagine new states, states that reflect the diverse peoples, needs, and cultural histories of their nations. Through a careful articulation of what happened in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire, Bah and Emmanuel offer fresh and vitally important insights for the possibilities of building better states, and ensuring peaceful and prosperous futures. A must-read for peace studies scholars."—Dr. Catherine E. Bolten - University of Notre Dame
"Much of the literature on African states has focused on dysfunctional institutions, corruption, and conflict. This book takes a radically different approach: It looks at how creative institutional strategies of peacebuilding and statebuilding together with international interventions have been used to manage conflict and deal with societal divisions in the cases of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire. The book offers fresh and compelling perspectives on seemingly intractable problems of postconflict governance."—Aili Mari Tripp, Vilas Research Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Abu Bakarr Bah and Nikolas Emmanuel's International Statebuilding in West Africa explores how new humanitarianism has the potential to forge links between peace building and statebuilding. When everything is broken, how might rebuilding be approached to restructure institutions with the goal of improving the political, economic, and social well-being of citizens? What role could the international community play if perspectives on sovereignty distinguished the "state" from the "people" to rethink the conditions for democracy? Attending to the past while insisting on working with the imperfections of the present to imagine better futures, International Statebuilding in West Africa offers a counterintuitive thesis that envisions conflict as an opening rather than a closure. Doing so requires a deep understanding of context and sustained commitment on the part of domestic and international actors. It is a daunting task, but in their comprehensive analyses of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire, Bah and Emmanuel demonstrate the complexities and possibilities of new humanitarianism, as well as what is at stake."—Jordanna Mation, School of International Service, American University
"Bah and Emmanuel ask an urgent policy question: how can a war-torn postcolonial multi-ethnic country evolve into a stable democratic state? Their response builds upon a comparative and historical study of the devastating wars that ripped apart Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. Drawing upon an impressive grasp of the scholarly literature and archival and field research, the authors argue that international actors have a constructive role to play not only in peace making but also in state building in ways that address the root causes of conflicts. Useful to students, scholars, and policy makers, this book contains important lessons on the role of international organizations in facilitating the construction of inclusive and democratic multi-ethnic postcolonial states."—Thomas J. Bassett, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"Literature on peacebuilding and humanitarian interventions in the global south frequently rests on both scant understanding of local history and the contemporary socio-political context. For scholars with deeper context specific knowledge it is quite easy to locate flaws and errors in the data of proportions big enough to question the entire analysis. This book, on the contrary, is built on deep and rare knowledge of countries studied. Combined with shrewd and sound analysis it is highly recommended reading."—Mats Utas, Uppsala University, Sweden
"Abu Bah and Nikolas Emmanuel's new book explores the challenges and opportunities in war-torn countries in West Africa to build peaceful and democratic states. Using Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone as case studies, this book puts the well-being of ordinary people center stage. It does a great job in investigating –the contested– role of international humanitarian intervention. A must read for any scholar and student interested in state-building in Africa and beyond."—Matthias Basedau, Director of the GIGA Institute for African Affairs
"In International Statebuilding in West Africa, Bah and Emmanual tackle a critically important but almost always overlooked question in the study of civil war and "failed states": how can states be built transformatively in the wake of civil wars? All too often, the moment of rebuilding in the wake of war focuses on patching together the state that was, typically with all their flaws and often replicating the very features that nurtured war. This book asks what might be possible if this moment was utilized to imagine new states, states that reflect the diverse peoples, needs, and cultural histories of their nations. Through a careful articulation of what happened in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire, Bah and Emmanuel offer fresh and vitally important insights for the possibilities of building better states, and ensuring peaceful and prosperous futures. A must-read for peace studies scholars."—Dr. Catherine E. Bolten - University of Norte Dame
"Abu Bakarr Bah and Nikolas Emmanuel provides an incisive analysis of the different trajectories of war, peace building, and state reconstitution in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte D'Ivoire. Rich in empirical data and theoretical reflections, it shows how the international community, driven by new humanitarian and political paradigms, contributed to resuscitating these decaying states from the maelstrom of the 1990s and 2000s. It offers veritable lessons for everyone invested in a stable and prosperous West Africa."—Ismail Rashid – Vasser College
