Table of Contents

Introduction - Historical background: uneven development - Rebellion (1): political or economic? Rebellion (2): grievances & shame - The APC & the 'failure' of counter-insurgency - Military coup & military abuses - 'Sell-game': a strangely co-operative conflict - Sobels & civil defence: some case-studies - Aid & violence - Emergency aid as welfare intervention: some deficiencies - From Abidjan to the May 1997 junta: collaboration comes to town - The ARFC/RUF junta: rise & fall - The rebels return to Freetown - Peace & its discontents- A more peaceable RUF highlights problems elsewhere (June 2000 to present) - Conclusion

Reviews

Rather than emerging from the UN Security Council chamber, from research institutions focused on econometric work, or from the boardrooms of private sector actors involved in civil war situations, this volume is rooted in Sierra Leone itself, often taking us to the city, town and village level to understand the local dynamics of war and survival. ... I can think of no scholar of the political economy of war who has more influenced policy thinking over the past ten years than Keen. I was fortunate to be one of the first to hear him describe his months of field research in Sierra Leone, where he sought to understand both the initial drivers of the conflict and those factors sustaining violence - nation-wide and locally.
*David M. Malone, International Peace Academy*

How useful it would have been to have had his analysis during the tortuous attempts to bring an end to the conflict. ...The real value of David Keen's excellent book will be to ensure that, with this clearer understanding of what led to the tragedy of Sierra Leone, better attempts will be made to ensure that such events are not repeated and that lasting peace and prosperity will prevail. That's what the people of Sierra Leone want and deserve.
*THE ROUND TABLE*