Ransoming the state: elite origins of Subaltern terror in Sierra Leone

Kandeh, Jimmy D.

doi:10.1080/03056249908704398

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Review of African Political Economy

Volume 26, Issue 81

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Ransoming the state: elite origins of Subaltern terror in Sierra Leone

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Author(s): Jimmy D. Kandeh ^a

Publication date (Print): September 1999

Journal: Review of African Political Economy

Publisher: Review of African Political Economy

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Abstract

Elite practices that valorised pillage, massified society, banalised violence and ‘sobelised’ the army are central to understanding the tragedy of subaltern terror in Sierra Leone. The appropriation of lumpen violence and thuggery by the political class undermined security and paved the way for the political ascendancy of armed marginals. By heavily recruiting thugs, criminals and rural drifters into national security apparatuses, incumbent political elites sowed the seeds of their own political demise as well as that of the state. Socially uprooted and politically alienated, lumpenised youth are inherently prone to criminal adventurism and when enlisted in the army are more likely to become ‘sobels’ or renegade soldiers. This article situates the transformation of praetorian violence from a tool of political domination to a means of criminal expropriation in the engendering context of elite parasitism and repression.

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Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): crea20

Journal ID (archive): CREA

Title: Review of African Political Economy

Publisher: Review of African Political Economy

ISSN (Print): 0305-6244

ISSN (Electronic): 1740-1720

Publication date (Print): September 1999

Volume: 26

Issue: 81

Pages: 349-366

Affiliations

^a Department of Political Science , University of Richmond , Virginia , USA

Article

Publisher ID: 8704398 Coden ID: Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 26, No. 81, September 1999, pp. 349-366

DOI: 10.1080/03056249908704398

SO-VID: 8224ebf4-f196-4da6-8440-f5e4774863ba

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Page count

Figures: 0, Tables: 0, References: 28, Pages: 18

Bibliography

Amnesty International. . 1995. . “‘Sierra Leone: Human Rights Abuses in a War Against Civilians’. ”.
Abdullah I. . 1997. . ‘Bush Path to Destruction: The Origin and Character of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF/SL)’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XXII((3/4)): 45––76. .
Allen C. . 1995. . ‘Understanding African Politics’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 65:: 301––320. .
Arendt H. . 1970. . On Violence . , New York : : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. .
Bangura Y. . 1997. . ‘Understanding the Political and Cultural Dynamics of the Sierra Leone War: A critique of Paul Richards's Fighting for the Rain Forest’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XXII((3/4)): 117––148. .
Callaghy T. . 1984. . The State‐Society Struggle: Zaire in Comparative Perspective . , New York : : Columbia University Press. .
Cox T. . 1976. . Civil‐Military Relations in Sierra Leone . , Cambridge : : Harvard University Press. .
Cross Reports. . 1996. . Reports of the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation . , Freetown : : Government Printing Department. .
Fatton R. . 1992. . Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa . , Boulder : : Lynne Rienner. .
Fyle C. . 1994. . ‘The Military and Civil Society in Sierra Leone: The 1992 Military Coup d'Etat’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XVIII((2)): 127––146. .
1993. . The State and the Provision of Social Services in Sierra Leone Since Independence, 1961–1991 . , Dakar : : Codesria. .
Harding J. . 1997. . ‘The Mercenary Business: Executive Outcomes’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 71:: 87––97. .
Kandeh J. . 1996. . ‘What Does the Militariat Do When it Rules? Military Regimes: The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 69:: 387––404. .
1992. . ‘Contradictory Class Functionality of the Soft State’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 55:: 30––43. .
Kaplan R. . 1994. . ‘The Coming Anarchy’. . The Atlantic Monthly . , February;: 44––76. .
Kornhauser W. . 1959. . The Politics of Mass Society . , Toronto : : The Free Press. .
Kpundeh S. . 1994. . Corruption and Politics in Africa . , Lanham : : University Press of America. .
Muana P. . 1997. . The Kamajoi Militia: Violence, Internal Displacement and the Politics of Counter‐Insurgency’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XXII((3/4)): 77––100. .
Opala J. . 1994. . ‘Ecstatic Revolution: Street Art Celebrating Sierra Leone's 1992 Revolution’. . African Affairs . , Vol. 93((371)): 195––218. .
Rashid I. . 1997. . ‘Subaltern Reactions: Lumpen, Students, and the Left’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XXII((3/4)): 19––44. .
Reno W. . 1997. . ‘Privatizing War in Sierra Leone’. . Current History . , Vol. 96((610)): 227––230. .
1995. . Corruption and Politics in Sierra Leone . , London : : Cambridge University Press. .
Richards P. . 1996. . Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone . , London : : Heinemann. .
Riley S. . 1997. . ‘Sierra Leone: The Militariat Strikes Again’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 72:: 287––292. .
Riley S and Sesay M.. 1995. . ‘Sierra Leone: The Coming Anarchy?’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 63:: 121––126. .
Rubin E. . 1997. . ‘An Army of One's Own: In Africa, Nations Hire a Corporation to Wage War’. . Harpers Magazine . , February;: 44––55. .
Zack‐Williams A. . 1997. . ‘Kamajors, “Sobel” & the Militariat: Civil Society and the Return of the Military in Sierra Leonean Politics’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 73:: 373––380. .
Zack‐Williams A and Riley S.. 1993. . ‘Sierra Leone: The Coup and its Consequences’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 56:: 91––97. .

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Amnesty International. . 1995. . “‘Sierra Leone: Human Rights Abuses in a War Against Civilians’. ”.

[2] Abdullah I. . 1997. . ‘Bush Path to Destruction: The Origin and Character of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF/SL)’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XXII((3/4)): 45––76. .

[3] Allen C. . 1995. . ‘Understanding African Politics’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 65:: 301––320. .

[4] Arendt H. . 1970. . On Violence . , New York : : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. .

[5] Bangura Y. . 1997. . ‘Understanding the Political and Cultural Dynamics of the Sierra Leone War: A critique of Paul Richards's Fighting for the Rain Forest’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XXII((3/4)): 117––148. .

[6] Callaghy T. . 1984. . The State‐Society Struggle: Zaire in Comparative Perspective . , New York : : Columbia University Press. .

[7] Cox T. . 1976. . Civil‐Military Relations in Sierra Leone . , Cambridge : : Harvard University Press. .

[8] Cross Reports. . 1996. . Reports of the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation . , Freetown : : Government Printing Department. .

[9] Fatton R. . 1992. . Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa . , Boulder : : Lynne Rienner. .

[10] Fyle C. . 1994. . ‘The Military and Civil Society in Sierra Leone: The 1992 Military Coup d'Etat’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XVIII((2)): 127––146. .

[11] 1993. . The State and the Provision of Social Services in Sierra Leone Since Independence, 1961–1991 . , Dakar : : Codesria. .

[12] Harding J. . 1997. . ‘The Mercenary Business: Executive Outcomes’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 71:: 87––97. .

[13] Kandeh J. . 1996. . ‘What Does the Militariat Do When it Rules? Military Regimes: The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 69:: 387––404. .

[14] 1992. . ‘Contradictory Class Functionality of the Soft State’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 55:: 30––43. .

[15] Kaplan R. . 1994. . ‘The Coming Anarchy’. . The Atlantic Monthly . , February;: 44––76. .

[16] Kornhauser W. . 1959. . The Politics of Mass Society . , Toronto : : The Free Press. .

[17] Kpundeh S. . 1994. . Corruption and Politics in Africa . , Lanham : : University Press of America. .

[18] Muana P. . 1997. . The Kamajoi Militia: Violence, Internal Displacement and the Politics of Counter‐Insurgency’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XXII((3/4)): 77––100. .

[19] Opala J. . 1994. . ‘Ecstatic Revolution: Street Art Celebrating Sierra Leone's 1992 Revolution’. . African Affairs . , Vol. 93((371)): 195––218. .

[20] Rashid I. . 1997. . ‘Subaltern Reactions: Lumpen, Students, and the Left’. . Africa Development . , Vol. XXII((3/4)): 19––44. .

[21] Reno W. . 1997. . ‘Privatizing War in Sierra Leone’. . Current History . , Vol. 96((610)): 227––230. .

[22] 1995. . Corruption and Politics in Sierra Leone . , London : : Cambridge University Press. .

[23] Richards P. . 1996. . Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone . , London : : Heinemann. .

[24] Riley S. . 1997. . ‘Sierra Leone: The Militariat Strikes Again’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 72:: 287––292. .

[25] Riley S and Sesay M.. 1995. . ‘Sierra Leone: The Coming Anarchy?’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 63:: 121––126. .

[26] Rubin E. . 1997. . ‘An Army of One's Own: In Africa, Nations Hire a Corporation to Wage War’. . Harpers Magazine . , February;: 44––55. .

[27] Zack‐Williams A. . 1997. . ‘Kamajors, “Sobel” & the Militariat: Civil Society and the Return of the Military in Sierra Leonean Politics’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 73:: 373––380. .

[28] Zack‐Williams A and Riley S.. 1993. . ‘Sierra Leone: The Coup and its Consequences’. . Review of African Political Economy . , Vol. 56:: 91––97. .

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Ransoming the state: elite origins of Subaltern terror in Sierra Leone

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