International Perspectives By Michael L . Best , Kipp Jones , Illenin Kondo , Dhanaraj Thakur ,

Liberia, founded in 1847 by freed African slaves from the U.S. is a relatively small country with approximately 3.3 million inhabitants (see Figure 1). Unrest has been common within Liberia for more than 25 years, with two major civil wars in this time period. These years of conflict have seen nearly one-third of the population displaced and taken the lives of approximately 250,000 people. Recently, a prominent warlord turned Liberian President, Charles Taylor, ruled with violence both at home and regionally. In 2003, as his government struggled under domestic and international pressure, the civil war entered the capital Monrovia. By the end of that year Taylor was forced to resign and sought asylum in Nigeria. Taylor has since been arrested and removed to The Hague where he faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. With Taylor’s departure, a