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ID: 051893

Civilian target in Sierra Leone and Liberia: political power, m / Hoffman, Danny

April 2004 Journal Article

Hoffman, Danny	Journal Article
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Publication

2004.

Summary/Abstract

This article traces one of the logics of the ongoing war in the Mano River region of West Africa. It argues that, in the wake of humanitarian interventions in Sierra Leone, combatants who moved on to fight in Liberia were more likely to use attacks against civilians in their military strategy. It suggests, however, that such tactical military choices are to be understood in terms of local contexts of meaning, most notably about the nature of political power. The author's own ethnographic work with the kamajor militia in Sierra Leone and with Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) in Liberia serves as the basis for this analysis, and he advocates a participant-observation field methodology for the study of contemporary conflict.

Key Words

Sierra Leone ; Humanitarian Intervention ; Civil-Military Relations-Sierra Leon

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ID: 080122

Meaning of a militia: Understanding the civil defence forces of Sierra Leone / Hoffman, Danny

Hoffman, Danny	Journal Article
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Publication

2007.

Summary/Abstract

This article is an adapted, narrative version of an expert witness report the author wrote for the Defence of one of the accused before the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The case against the Civil Defence Forces militia was predicated in part on the argument that the CDF was a military organization with military-style command and control. Based on a close reading of the Prosecution's military expert witness report and the author's ethnographic research with the militia, the article outlines a case for understanding the CDF as the militarization of a social network rather than as a military organization. This framing has implications not only for post-conflict adjudication, but for how we think about and intervene in violent contexts throughout contemporary West Africa

Key Words

Africa ; Sierra Leone ; Post conflict ; Civil-Defence Force

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