The Mask of Anarchy: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War

Rating:
Summary: Those Wacky Liberian Transvestites
Review: One can almost imagine the conversation between Stephen Ellis and his NYU Press editors as they mulled over a title and a marketing scheme for this book. Ellis is a scholar of African affairs who, I gather, doesn't typically write the sort of book that can be marketed to the non-academic set. Nonetheless, this volume boasts a snappy title, drawn from a Percy Byshe Shelley poem, and a striking book jacket photo of three bewigged Liberian rebels who, like the Liberian civil war itself, manage to appear at once both frightening and farcical. Looks like the editors got their way.

But, as they say, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This is an unapologetically academic tome, with extensive footnotes and a fifteen-page bibliography. If you are not of an academic bent, or not seriously curious about the truly unique character of the Liberian civil war, you might want to skip this book.

But if you are looking for a very good summation of the Liberian conflict, a primer on ethnicity and religion in Liberia, and an interesting examination of how these factored into the conflict, then this is a must-read.

My most vivid impression is that this is not so much one book as two separate volumes, one focusing on the war itself, and the other delving into Liberian, history, economics, and anthropology. The first section, on the war itself, is quite well done and very readable, almost journalistic in tone. Ellis draws from a wide variety of sources, including his own travels to the country, to describe and explain the Liberian civil war and the conditions in which it took root. Commendably, he cites Liberian sources whenever possible, though this tendency also raised one of my quibbles. For some reason, his citations of things like US Congressional testimony are from Monrovia newspapers rather than the original sources themselves, something I had been taught to avoid, especially when the original sources are so accessible (just a few mouse clicks away).

Ellis also occasionally falls into the trap of providing too much information, seemingly just because he did the research and wants to use it. For example, he goes on for pages and pages about the bases of the Nigerian and Ivorian economies by way of explaining the economic interests of both countries in the Liberian conflict. He could have summarized this information in much less space without taking anything away from his thesis.

That having been said, Ellis makes some important points about the conflict. One is the tendency of some analysts, myself included, to be too quick to ascribe ethnic labels and motivations to the key players. The situation is more complicated than that, with clan affiliations, personal ties, and other considerations often more important. He also delves into the unique religious and cultural backdrop of Liberia to explain some of the seemingly wierd and grotesque practices that became hallmarks of this conflict -- like the transvestism and ritual cannibalism practiced by some of the combatants.

One can't help but conclude that, for all Liberia has been through in the last twenty years, it still has a long way to go to find some political equilibrium, much less to achieve its promise. Charles Taylor, while more clever and formidable than most of his predecessors in the Executive Mansion, is at least as brutal and venal as any of them, including the late Samuel Doe. And, sadly, Taylor appears incapable of mending the deep wounds that still beset Liberia. No one will be surprised if he, too, is toppled by yet another self-aggrandizing military man out to plunder the country. Liberia deserves better.

Rating:
Summary: Those Wacky Liberian Transvestites
Review: One can almost imagine the conversation between Stephen Ellis and his NYU Press editors as they mulled over a title and a marketing scheme for this book. Ellis is a scholar of African affairs who, I gather, doesn't typically write the sort of book that can be marketed to the non-academic set. Nonetheless, this volume boasts a snappy title, drawn from a Percy Byshe Shelley poem, and a striking book jacket photo of three bewigged Liberian rebels who, like the Liberian civil war itself, manage to appear at once both frightening and farcical. Looks like the editors got their way.

But, as they say, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This is an unapologetically academic tome, with extensive footnotes and a fifteen-page bibliography. If you are not of an academic bent, or not seriously curious about the truly unique character of the Liberian civil war, you might want to skip this book.

But if you are looking for a very good summation of the Liberian conflict, a primer on ethnicity and religion in Liberia, and an interesting examination of how these factored into the conflict, then this is a must-read.

My most vivid impression is that this is not so much one book as two separate volumes, one focusing on the war itself, and the other delving into Liberian, history, economics, and anthropology. The first section, on the war itself, is quite well done and very readable, almost journalistic in tone. Ellis draws from a wide variety of sources, including his own travels to the country, to describe and explain the Liberian civil war and the conditions in which it took root. Commendably, he cites Liberian sources whenever possible, though this tendency also raised one of my quibbles. For some reason, his citations of things like US Congressional testimony are from Monrovia newspapers rather than the original sources themselves, something I had been taught to avoid, especially when the original sources are so accessible (just a few mouse clicks away).

Ellis also occasionally falls into the trap of providing too much information, seemingly just because he did the research and wants to use it. For example, he goes on for pages and pages about the bases of the Nigerian and Ivorian economies by way of explaining the economic interests of both countries in the Liberian conflict. He could have summarized this information in much less space without taking anything away from his thesis.

That having been said, Ellis makes some important points about the conflict. One is the tendency of some analysts, myself included, to be too quick to ascribe ethnic labels and motivations to the key players. The situation is more complicated than that, with clan affiliations, personal ties, and other considerations often more important. He also delves into the unique religious and cultural backdrop of Liberia to explain some of the seemingly wierd and grotesque practices that became hallmarks of this conflict -- like the transvestism and ritual cannibalism practiced by some of the combatants.

One can't help but conclude that, for all Liberia has been through in the last twenty years, it still has a long way to go to find some political equilibrium, much less to achieve its promise. Charles Taylor, while more clever and formidable than most of his predecessors in the Executive Mansion, is at least as brutal and venal as any of them, including the late Samuel Doe. And, sadly, Taylor appears incapable of mending the deep wounds that still beset Liberia. No one will be surprised if he, too, is toppled by yet another self-aggrandizing military man out to plunder the country. Liberia deserves better.

Rating:
Summary: Liberia Unmasked
Review: The author has drawn on an impressive range of sources to give us an in-depth look at the Liberian civil war. The book is like an onion: the outer later is a description of what happened; the second lays out the historical, social and economic framework, and the core discusses contributing psychological and spiritual factors.

Whether or not you accept his analysis of the role which traditional religious ritual played in the way in which the war was carried out, the fact remains that the Liberian warlords, most of whom had enough education to know what they were doing, consciously manipulated young, poor and uneducated soldiers to commit murder, torture, rape and terror in the interests of seizing power and the spoils of war. When foreign governments intervened, more often they did more harm than good. There are no heroes in this book.

If there is a weakness in Ellis's analysis, it is in the period of the 70s and 80s; he gives somewhat cursory attention to the failings of the Tolbert regime which led to the 1980 coup and to the dynamics between the Doe government and the international community, especially the United States and its short term interests in the country. As a result, no meaningful conclusions can be drawn as to how and when the rapid descent into madness might have been prevented--despite an acknowledgement that things could have turned out differently. This is a minor cavil to an otherwise perceptive study of the nature of the challenges facing Liberia if it is to take up again the task of nation building.