An Exploration of the Historical and the Political Backgrounds of Liberia

Abstract

Many socio-political and historical scholars have written on the emergence of the present Liberian State with divergent theories and postulations (findings). This paper presents a brief political history of Liberia. The intention is to bring to the fore the political and economic inequality that existed between the indigenous Liberians and the Americo-Liberians right from the foundation of Liberia. One would appreciate the fact that the mass internal displacement witnessed in Liberia between 1989 and 1996 was a direct impact of this unequal distribution of wealth and political offices. The situation only got to the climax during the tenure of President Samuel Doe in whose time the civil war broke out.

Key Words: Internal displacement, Liberia, Politics, civil war and cold war