| ID | 084476 |
| Title Proper | The West Side Boys |
| Other Title Information | military navigation in the Sierra Leone civil war |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Utas, Mats ; Jörgel, Magnus |
| Publication | 2008. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The West Side Boys were one of several military actors in the Sierra Leonean civil war (1991-2002). A splinter group of the army, the WSB emerged as a key player in 1999-2000. In most Western media accounts, the WSB appeared as nothing more than renegade, anarchistic bandits, devoid of any trace of long-term goals. By contrast, this article aims to explain how the WSB used well-devised military techniques in the field; how their history and military training within the Sierra Leone army shaped their notion of themselves and their view of what they were trying to accomplish; and, finally, how military commanders and politicians employed the WSB as a tactical instrument in a larger map of military and political strategies. It is in the politics of a military economy that this article is grounded |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Modern African Studies Vol. 46,No. 3 ; Sep. 2008 :p487-511 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Modern African Studies Vol. 46,No. 3 ; Sep. 2008 :p487-511 |
| Key Words | West Side Boys ; Military ; Navigation ; Sierra ; Leone ; War ; Civil |