Publication

This situation report from September 2003 examines Liberia's prospects for lasting peace after the exile of Charles Taylor and subsequent peace deal struck with the rebel leaders in the country. The author argues that although reports of skirmishes continue, it seems that for the moment the peace pact is holding. However, there remain several factors that could play a role in returning the country to renewed civil war. These include not knowing whether the rebels will give up the four-fifths of the country they took over in the last four years of fighting for power-sharing and Taylor himself, whose influence in the equation, especially in the long run, also remains to be seen.