This thesis project examines the relationship between post-conflict land tenure reform and political reconciliation in the West African country of Liberia. The thesis asks: is successful land tenure reform a necessary precondition for political reconciliation in Liberia? Secondly, what are the primary means by which land tenure reform contributes to political reconciliation in Liberia? Thirdly, what is the role of Liberians in the Diaspora in the land reform process and how does the role of the Diaspora shape the contribution of land tenure reforms to wider political reconciliation?
The study examines the impact of Liberia’s 14 year civil war from 1989 to 2003 on the country’s land tenure system. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Liberia identified “land and property disputes as key threats to Liberia’s fragile peace” in its conflict mapping survey (UNMIL, 2009). In a broader context, this thesis is a contribution to the growing literature that links land policy with conflict and land reform as an important element of achieving the national peace building process and sustainable development. As well this thesis contributes to the literature on post-colonial African Diasporas. The Liberian Diaspora which is known as the “16th County” composed of the country’s middle class was the first African Diaspora to be engaged in its country’s TRC process project. This thesis examines the role of the Liberian Diaspora in the land reform process and the implication for postconflict reconstruction in Liberia.
Respondents revealed that if the land problem is not solved there is a potential for a return to war in Liberia. The civil war exacerbated existing boundary disputes between different counties mainly Nimba County and Grand Gedeh. As well the civil war exacerbated existing tensions between ethnic groups mainly the Mandingo, Manos and Gios in Nimba County making Nimba the poster child of land conflicts in Liberia. In rural Liberia which uses communal land ownership family members are embroiled in land disputes as siblings sold land that belongs to the whole family during the civil war without consulting the rest of family which were displaced by the war. While urban Liberia is engulfed in land disputes due to multiple sales of the same piece of land which has resulted in many people claiming ownership to the same piece of land. Entire villages, the Liberian government including President Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson are themselves involved in land disputes. Liberians in the Diaspora are particularly vulnerable to land tenure insecurity because of their physical absence from home. Liberians in the US currently under Temporary Protected Status/Deferred Enforced Departure status point to land tenure disputes at home as one of the many indicators that Liberia despite the end of the civil war remains with the reality of everyday conflicts from family, neighbors, ethnic groups and government fighting over land. Therefore, conditions at home still do not allow for them to establish stable secure livelihoods like in the US.
It is due to these findings that this thesis argues that the ability of Liberia to fully establish democratic and security institutions that are free from the threat of violent takeover is dependent upon people’s ability to access bread- through rights to land. Lastly, the Diaspora of Liberia reveals the importance of the African Diasporas in their continent’s reconstruction, in particular the Liberian Diaspora demonstrated the urgency for a greater and more formal involvement of the Diaspora in the development their homeland’s development agendas. The Liberian TRC project already set a precedent on how other African Diasporas should be part of the postconflict reconstruction process. Results revealed in this thesis that Liberians in the Diaspora remain key stakeholders in the land tenure process.