Embargo Period

5-9-2019

Degree Name

MA in Conflict Transformation

First Advisor

John Ungerleider

Second Advisor

Bruce Dayton

Abstract

Liberia was an American settler based colony of freed African Americans who were commissioned with the task of establishing a Western form of governance on the African continent. The result of this venture was the colonization of indigenous Africans and almost 200 years of identity based conflict and colonial oppression. Thus, the question driving this research was how to achieve social justice in postcolonial Liberia. In pursuit of this question, the researcher seeks to develop an array of perspectives from within the context of Liberia regarding social justice through the conceptual framework of postcolonialism. Furthermore, it is the intention of this paper to also construct a historical analysis of the First Republic of Liberia that provides a polycentric approach to constructing Liberian history in order to examine the pursuit of social justice through multiple perspectives. In so doing, a history of the First Republic can be realized that demonstrates a shared experience by all Liberians in the pursuit of social justice, albeit through very different means. In conclusion, a contemporary synthesis on social justice is developed that is informed by this history and also provides a united path forward for all Liberians collectively.

Disciplines

International Relations

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