Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-r6qrq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T21:00:57.171Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Legacy of a Revolution that Never Happened: The Post-War Politics of Former Rebel Party RUFP in Sierra Leone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2019

Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs Open the ORCID record for Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs [Opens in a new window]
Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs*
Affiliation:
Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), Sweden
*
*Corresponding author. Email: mimmi.soderbergkovacs@fba.se
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The former rebel party Revolutionary United Front Party (RUFP) in Sierra Leone has struggled with a discredited wartime reputation and electoral defeats throughout the post-war period. In spite of this, the party has remained loyal to its wartime revolutionary ideas, symbols and political rhetoric. Why is this the case? In this article, I argue that the answer lies in the premises of party politics in war-torn states and new democracies on the African continent. In a political landscape where brokerage is power, retaining wartime identities can sometimes serve as a valuable source of (potential) patronage. With few other options for access to resources and opportunities, the core of the party membership has clung to its past as a means to both rally electoral support among the marginalized ex-combatant community and to get access to the long-awaited funds that were promised to them in the peace negotiations.

Keywords

rebel grouppolitical partypost-warRUFPSierra Leone
Type
Article
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 245 - 259
Copyright
Copyright © The Author 2019. Published by Government and Opposition Limited and Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdullah, I (1998) Bush Path to Destruction: The Origin and Character of the Revolutionary United Front/Sierra Leone. Journal of Modern African Studies 36(2), 203–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abdullah, I and Muana, P (1998) The Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone: A Revolt of the Lumpen Proletariat. In Clapham, C (ed.), African Guerrillas. Oxford: James Currey, pp. 172–193.Google Scholar
Allison, M (2006) The Transition from Armed Opposition to Electoral Opposition in Central America. Latin American Politics and Society 48, 137–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allison, M (2010) The Legacy of Violence on Post-Civil War Elections: The Case of El Salvador. Studies in Comparative International Development 45, 104–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arriola, L (2009) Patronage and Political Stability in Africa. Comparative Political Studies 42(10), 1339–1362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Awako (2017) Sierra Leone News: RUFP, PDP, CDP and PLP Form Coalition. 24 November, https://awoko.org/2017/11/29/sierra-leone-news-rufp-pdp-cdp-and-plp-form-coalition/.Google Scholar
Bangura, I and Söderberg Kovacs, M (2017) Securing Sierra Leone's Swing District: Electoral Competition and Violence in Kono. In Söderberg Kovacs, M and Bjarnesen, J (eds), Violence in African Elections: Between Democracy and Big Man Politics. London: Zed Books, pp. 114–134.Google Scholar
Bennett, A and Checkel, J (2015). Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytical Tool. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Berdal, M and Ucko, D (eds) (2009) Reintegrating Armed Groups After Conflict: Politics, Violence and Transition. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bleck, J and van de Walle, N (2013) Valence Issues in African Elections: Navigating Uncertainty and the Weight of the Past. Comparative Political Studies 46(11), 1394–1421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, M and van de Walle, N (1997) Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burihabwa, NZ and Curtis, DEA (2019) The Limits of Resistance Ideologies? The CNDD-FDD and the Legacies of Governance in Burundi. Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics 54(3), 559–584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheeseman, N (2018) Institutions and Democracy in Africa: How Rules of the Game Shape Political Developments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, M and Utas, M (2008) Mercenaries of Democracy: The ‘Politricks’ of Remobilized Combatants in the 2007 General Elections, Sierra Leone. African Affairs 107(429), 515–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Concord Times (2018) Our Democracy is in Crisis. 20 February, http://slconcordtimes.com/our-democracy-is-in-crisis/.Google Scholar
Curtis, DEA and Sindre, GM (2019) Transforming State Visions: Ideology and Ideas in Armed Groups Turned Political Parties: Introduction to Special Issue. Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics 54(3), 387–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deonandan, K, Close, D and Prevost, G (eds) (2007) From Revolutionary Movements to Political Parties: Cases from Latin America and Africa. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dessler, D (1991) Beyond Correlations: Towards a Causal Theory of War. International Studies Quarterly 35, 337–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, L (2008) Progress and Retreat in Africa: The Rule of Law versus the Big Man. Journal of Democracy 19(2), 138–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dudouet, V (2009) From War to Politics: Resistance/Liberation Movements in Transition. Berghof Report 17, Berghof Research Center.Google Scholar
Elischer, S (2013) Political Parties in Africa: Ethnicity and Party Formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erdmann, G (2007) Party Research: Western European Bias and the ‘African Labyrinth’. In Basedau, M, Erdmann, G and Mehler, A (eds), Votes, Money and Violence: Political Parties and Elections in Sub-Saharan Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, pp. 34–64.Google Scholar
Francis, D (2000) Torturous Path to Peace: The Lomé Accord and Postwar Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone. Security Dialogue 31(3), 357–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gberie, L (2005) A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone. London: Hurst & Company.Google Scholar
George, A and Bennett, A (2005) Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Gerring, J (2002) What is a Case and What is it Good For? Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August–September.Google Scholar
Gyimah-Boadi, E (2007) Political Parties, Elections and Patronage. In Basedau, M, Erdmann, G and Mehler, A (eds), Votes, Money and Violence: Political Parties in Sub-Saharan Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, pp. 21–33.Google Scholar
Harris, D (2012) Civil War and Democracy in West Africa: Conflict Resolution, Elections and Justice in Sierra Leone and Liberia. London: I.B. Tauris.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hedström, P and Swedberg, R (eds) (1998) Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphreys, M and Weinstein, J (2004) What the Fighters Say: A Survey of Ex-Combatants in Sierra Leone. CGSD Working Paper 20.Google Scholar
Humphreys, M and Weinstein, J (2008) Who Fights? The Determinants of Participation in Civil War. American Journal of Political Science 52(2), 436–455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, S (1991) The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Ishiyama, J (2016) Introduction to the Special Issue: From Bullets to Ballots: The Transformation of Rebel Groups into Political Parties. Democratization 23(6), 969–971.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ishiyama, J and Batta, A (2011) Swords into Plowshares: The Organizational Transformation of Rebel Groups into Political Parties. Communist and Post-Communist Studies 44, 369–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ishiyama, J and Marshall, M (2015) Candidate Recruitment and Former Rebel Parties. Party Politics 21(3), 591–602.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ishiyama, J and Marshall, M (2017) What Explains Former Rebel Party Name Changes After a Civil Conflict Ends? External and Internal Factors and the Transition to Political Competition. Party Politics 23(4), 364–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarstad, A and Sisk, T (eds) (2008) From War to Democracy: Dilemmas of Peacebuilding. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kandeh, J (2003) Sierra Leone's Post-Conflict Elections of 2002. Journal of Modern African Studies 41(2), 189–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kandeh, J (2008) Rogue Incumbents, Donor Assistance and Sierra Leone's Second Post-Conflict Elections of 2007. Journal of Modern African Studies 46(4), 603–635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keen, D (2005) Conflict and Collusion in Sierra Leone. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
LeBas, A (2011) From Protest to Parties: Party-Building and Democratization in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindberg, S (2003) It's Our Time to ‘Chop’: Do Elections in Africa Feed Neo-Patrimonialism Rather than Counteract it? Democratization 10(2), 121–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons, T (2005) Demilitarizing Politics: Elections on the Uncertain Road to Peace. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Lyons, T (2015) From Victorious Rebels to Strong Authoritarian Parties: Prospects for Post-War Democratization. Democratization 23, 1026–1041.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons, T (2016) The Importance of Winning: Victorious Insurgent Groups and Authoritarian Politics. Comparative Politics 48, 167–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malan, M et al. (2002) Peacekeeping in Sierra Leone: Unamsil Hits the Home Straight. ISS Monograph Series 68.Google Scholar
Malan, M et al. (2003) Sierra Leone: Building the Road to Recovery. ISS Monograph Series 80.Google Scholar
Manning, C (2004) Armed Opposition Groups into Political Parties: Comparing Bosnia, Kosovo, and Mozambique. Studies in Comparative International Development 39(1), 54–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manning, C (2008) The Making of Democrats: Elections and Party Development in Postwar Bosnia, El Salvador and Mozambique. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manning, C and Smith, I (2016) Political Party Formation by Former Armed Opposition Groups after Civil War. Democratization 23(6), 972–989.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manning, C and Smith, I (2019) Electoral Performance by Post-Rebel Parties. Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics 54(3), 415–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, M and Ishiyama, J (2016) Does Political Inclusion of Rebel Parties Promote Peace after Civil Conflict? Democratization 23, 1009–1025.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matanock, A (2017) Electing Peace: From Civil Conflict to Political Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Medium (2017) Sierra Leone News: RUFP Members Denounce Coalition. 16 November, https://medium.com/@stephenvlansana/sierra-leone-news-rufp-members-denounce-coalition-88bbaf22d2da.Google Scholar
Medium (2018) Sierra Leone News: RUFP in Political Crisis. 5 February, https://medium.com/@stephenvlansana/sierra-leone-news-rufp-in-political-crisis-5fa43b10b33f.Google Scholar
Mitton, K (2008) Engaging Disengagement: The Political Reintegration of Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front. Conflict, Security and Development 8(2), 193–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nugent, P (1995) Big Men, Small Boys and Politics in Ghana. London: Pinter.Google Scholar
Ohlson, T and Söderberg, M (2003) From Intra-State War to Democratic Peace in Weak States. Uppsala Peace Research Paper 5. Uppsala: Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University.Google Scholar
Paris, R (2004) At War's End: Building Peace after Civil Conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearce, J (2018) From Rebellion to Opposition: UNITA's Social Engagement in Post-War Angola. Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics, published early online, November, http://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2018.36.Google Scholar
Peters, K (2011) War and the Crisis of Youth in Sierra Leone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Posner, D (2007) Regime Change and Ethnic Cleavages in Africa. Comparative Political Studies 40(11), 1302–1327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Randall, V and Svåsand, L (2002) Party Institutionalization in New Democracies. Party Politics 8(1), 5–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rashid, I (2004) Student Radicals, Lumpen Youth, and the Origins of Revolutionary Groups in Sierra Leone, 1977–1996. In Abdullah, I (ed.), Between Democracy and Terror: The Sierra Leone Civil War. Dakar: CODESRIA, pp. 66–89.Google Scholar
Richards, P (1998) Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone. London: James Currey.Google Scholar
Richards, P and Vincent, J (2008) Sierra Leone: The Marginalization of the RUF. In De Zeeuw J, (ed.), From Soldiers to Politicians: Transforming Rebel Movements after War. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, pp. 81–102.Google Scholar
Salih, M (2003) African Political Parties: Evolution, Institutionalisation and Governance. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Sindre, GM (2016a) Internal Party Democracy in Former Rebel Parties. Party Politics 22, 501–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sindre, GM (2016b) In Whose Interests? Former Rebel Parties and Ex-combatant Interest Group Mobilisation in Aceh and East Timor. Civil Wars 18, 192–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sindre, GM and Söderström, J (2016) Understanding Armed Groups and Party Politics. Civil Wars 18, 109–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sjöstedt, R, Söderberg Kovacs, M and Themnér, A (2017) Demagogues of Hate or Shepherds of Peace? Examining the Treat Construction Processes of Warlord Democrats in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Journal of International Relations and Development, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-017-0111-3.Google Scholar
Söderberg Kovacs, M (2007) From Rebellion to Politics: The Transformation of Rebel Groups to Political Parties in Civil War Peace Processes. PhD dissertation, Uppsala University.Google Scholar
Söderberg Kovacs, M (2008) When Rebels Change Their Stripes: Armed Insurgents in Post-War Politics. In Jarstad, A and Sisk, T (eds), From War to Democracy: Dilemmas of Peacebuilding. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 134–156.Google Scholar
Söderberg Kovacs, M and Hatz, S (2016) Rebel-to-Party Transformations in Civil War Peace Processes 1975–2011. Democratization 23(6), 990–1008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Söderström, J (2016) The Resilient, the Remobilized and the Removed: Party Mobilization Among Former M19 Combatants. Civil Wars 18(2), 214–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Themnér, A (2015) Former Military Networks and the Micro-Politics of Violence and Statebuilding in Liberia. Comparative Politics 47(3), 334–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Themnér, A (ed.) (2017) Warlord Democrats in Africa: Ex-Military Leaders and Electoral Politics. London: Zed Books.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Utas, M (ed.) (2012) African Conflicts and Informal Power: Big Men and Networks. London: Zed Books.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whiting, M (2018) Moderation without Change: The Strategic Transformation of Sinn Féin and the IRA in Northern Ireland. Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics 53(2), 228–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Widner, J (1997) Political Parties and Civil Societies in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ottaway, M (ed.), Democracy in Africa: The Hard Road Ahead. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar