Participants: Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs (PI), Mats Utas and Johanna Söderström

Funded by the Swedish Research Council

What are the causes of election-related violence? In this project, we closely examine the local dynamics of electoral violence at the level of the concerned citizenry to grasp better how the logic of so-called Big Man politics in new democracies affect the citizens’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the electoral process, and in extension their inclination to participate in and support election-related violence. We examine these questions in three countries in West Africa (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mali), using a multi-disciplinary methodological approach that combines quantitative data collection in surveys with qualitative research methods such as focus groups, interviews, and ethnographic field research. The results of this project can significantly inform policy on electoral assistance, voter education, and electoral monitoring.

This project is one of several in which I have worked closely with scholars from the political sciences. At times, I have been quite frustrated with their efforts to construct models and then squeeze our material into them, but more importantly, these projects have taught me how to be “relevant” in the policy world. Combining the research methods used in political science and anthropology opens up interesting analytical perspectives and effectively broadens research findings. This project was also one of several that was created in the policy-focused and multi-disciplinary research environment of the Nordic Africa Institute – my research home for more than ten years (2003-2015). Due to other research obligations, my participation in this project became less than first anticipated.

Publications related to this project include:

The Gift of Violence: Ex-Militias and Ambiguous Debt Relations during Post-War Elections in Sierra Leone. In African conflict and peacebuilding review. 2016 6(2): 23-47.

The Political Landscape of Postwar Liberia: Reflections on National Reconciliation and Elections. In Africa Today, vol. 60, no. 4. 2014. Pp. 47-65.

Mercenaries of Democracy: The ‘politrix’ of remobilized combatants in the Sierra Leone 2007 General Elections. In African Affairs vol. 107, no. 429, 2008. pp. 515-539.