Vervalle state, hulpbronoorloë en vredemaking : die gevalle Sierra Leone

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This thesis explores the issue of collapsed states with reference to WilliamReno's (2001) theory. Since the end of the Cold War we find in many places thatthe state itself has collapsed. According to this thesis state collapse refers to asituation where the structure, authority, laws and political order have fallen apart.The phenomenon of collapsed states is historic and worldwide, but nowhere arethere more examples than in contemporary Africa. Sierra Leone is an exampleof a collapsed state in Africa. The state in Sierra Leone was after thecommencement of the conflict in 1991 not capable of performing the duties whichare required of a state when a state wants to be called a state. Governments incollapsed states lack the capacity to make binding, effective decisions. As abasic institution, the state loses its sovereignty as the most central institution inthe society.Resource wars are nowadays a characteristic of collapsed states like SierraLeone. Resources are used by key figures in the resource wars to enrichthemselves. They also exploit the resources to finance their actions andpropaganda. Diamonds was the resource which was exploited commercially bythe 'government' and Foday Sankoh, a rebel/insurgent, as well as CharlesTaylor, a warlord. The resource war was one of the reasons why the state inSierra Leone collapsed further. It had lead to the total collapse of the state inSierra Leone.With the commencement of the conflict in Sierra Leone, the issue ofpeacemaking came to the fore in Sierra Leone. The conflict in Sierra Leone wasan intrastate conflict. The primary goal of the United Nations (UN) is to maintaininternational security and peace. Intrastate conflicts do not form part of the UN'straditional mandate regarding peacemaking. The UN thus had no basicframework of how to get involved in the intrastate conflict in Sierra Leone. TheUN only became involved in 1999 in the form of UNAMSIL. Before the intervention of the UN, the 'government' of Sierra Leone turned to Private MilitaryCompanies (PMC's) in the form of Executive Outcomes and SandlineInternational. The problem with the intervention of PMC's in a conflict is that theyare not sanctioned by international organisations like the UN. As a regionalinitiative, ECOWAS in the form of ECOMOG, also became involved in SierraLeone. The intervention of both ECOMOG and PMC's in Sierra Leone failed toproduce peace or the restoration of the state. Only the UN achievedpeacemaking and the holding of an election.The conclusion of this thesis is that Sierra Leone fits in the theory of Reno (2001 )re collapsed states. Sierra Leone is a typical example of a collapsed state and italso illustrates the validity of the concept. This however does not mean thatSierra Leone will be a collapsed state forever. There is the possibility that SierraLeone can make a transition from a collapsed state to a stronger state to a morestable and functional state. It need, however, be noted that all conclusions in thisthesis are of a preliminary nature. The conclusions will therefore be subject tofurther confirmation by later studies.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University