Class Ethnicity and Politics in Liberia [Textbook Binding]

Stephen S. Hlophe (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0819107212 | ISBN-13: 978-0819107213 | Publication Date: March 13, 1979

The first work to apply Marxist class analysis and the theory of situational ethnicity to Liberian social formations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...rich in depth of research into the historical development of the repatriate Liberian class, the formation of the technocratic indigenous class...The book is an excellent source for those seeking to understand the conditions behind the fall of the repatriate Liberian domination of the Liberian scene.>>> (Liberal Studies Journal )

...interesting and articulate ...a welcome reflection upon class and ethnicity in Liberian politics that has been long awaited.>>>> (The International Journal Of African Historical Studies )

...interesting and articulate ...a welcome reflection upon class and ethnicity in Liberian politics that has been long awaited. (The International Journal Of African Historical Studies )

...rich in depth of research into the historical development of the repatriate Liberian class, the formation of the technocratic indigenous class...The book is an excellent source for those seeking to understand the conditions behind the fall of the repatriate Liberian domination of the Liberian scene. (Liberal Studies Journal )

About the Author

Stephen S. Hlophe is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Concordia University, Montreal.

Product Details

• Textbook Binding: 336 pages
• Publisher: University Press Of America (March 13, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819107212
• ISBN-13: 978-0819107213
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,347,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars First-class analysis, October 14, 2008

By 

Hasika "Jes" (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Class Ethnicity and Politics in Liberia (Textbook Binding)

A lot of people today know Liberia for Taylor's wars and the business of blood diamonds, but know little about the background of the causes related to those conflicts. Hlophe's work (especially if read together with Osaghae's work on the Liberian "ethclass" question [1996:CODESRIA], and Levitt's work on all of Liberia's 18 major conflicts [2005:Carolina Academic Press]) will provide you with a good broad analysis of what was wrong in Liberian society, and why it is not surprising at all that the country ended up in the hands of a tyrant and then a warlord, respectively. Perhaps the most important contribution that Hlophe made through this work is a deep analysis of the "corporate family network" which formed the Liberian state's ruling class (True Whig Party). It is a specifically Liberian brand of neo-patrimonialism that at once appears to cut across ethnic lines but which ultimately consolidated ethnic hierarchy in the state's formal institutions. Hlophe's work is very important in understanding how (ethnic) power relations operate in Liberian business, governance, church, judiciary, schools, youth groups and so on - all relevant today as the recent wars have only strengthened the prestige of Americo-Liberianism in Liberian society, given their strong links to the diaspora and foreign money. This is a very important piece of work for those who may wish to become involved in post-conflict reconstruction in Liberia with their eyes opened, who need to understand the history of the ethnic character of power relations/elite formation and the institutions which they worked through.