When the international community responds to a massive humanitarian emergency, such as the one in Liberia, the operation that results is both complicated and ephemeral. The multifaceted nature of the problems in the crisis area attracts many different responses ranging from the deployment of thousands of international troops and observers to groups of civilians who act locally. Acting simultaneously but not always in concert with the response operations are the regional and international political leaders. In the context of Liberia, the crisis and the international response to it developed in stages, each with its own idiosyncratic nature, characteristic form of violence, cast of dominant personalities, and fresh bouts of extreme violence. Peacekeepers, Politicians, and Warlords is an original account of the entire peace process in Liberia that penetrates the roles of the peacekeepers, the warlords and the politicians who were the key actors in this narrative.
