The Mask of Anarchy Updated Edition: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War

"Outstanding. . . . A model of lucid writing, thorough research, and penetrating interpretation, this is one of the best books on Africa in recent years."
—Foreign Affairs

"No other available account of the civil war is as concise, accurate, or lucid."
—Christian Scholar's Review

"Cogently argued and supported by a wealth of observation"
—Times Literary Supplement

Liberia has been one of Africa's most violent trouble spots. In 1990, when thousands of teenage fighters, including young men wearing women's clothing and bizarre objects of decoration, laid siege to the capital, the world took notice. Since then Liberia has been through devastating civil upheaval. What began as a civil conflict, has spread to other West African nations.

Eschewing popular stereotypes and simple explanations, Stephen Ellis traces the history of the civil war that has blighted Liberia in recent years and looks at its political, ethnic and cultural roots. He focuses on the role religion and ritual have played in shaping and intensifying this brutal war. In this edition, with a new preface by the author, Ellis provides a current picture of Liberia and details how much of the same problems still exist.

But, as they say, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This is an unapologetically academic tome, with extensive footnotes and a fifteen-page bibliography. If you are not of an academic bent, or not seriously curious about the truly unique character of the Liberian civil war, you might want to skip this book.

But if you are looking for a very good summation of the Liberian conflict, a primer on ethnicity and religion in Liberia, and an interesting examination of how these factored into the conflict, then this is a must-read.

My most vivid impression is that this is not so much one book as two separate volumes, one focusing on the war itself, and the other delving into Liberian, history, economics, and anthropology. The first section, on the war itself, is quite well done and very readable, almost journalistic in tone. Ellis draws from a wide variety of sources, including his own travels to the country, to describe and explain the Liberian civil war and the conditions in which it took root. Commendably, he cites Liberian sources whenever possible, though this tendency also raised one of my quibbles. For some reason, his citations of things like US Congressional testimony are from Monrovia newspapers rather than the original sources themselves, something I had been taught to avoid, especially when the original sources are so accessible (just a few mouse clicks away).

Ellis also occasionally falls into the trap of providing too much information, seemingly just because he did the research and wants to use it. For example, he goes on for pages and pages about the bases of the Nigerian and Ivorian economies by way of explaining the economic interests of both countries in the Liberian conflict. He could have summarized this information in much less space without taking anything away from his thesis.

That having been said, Ellis makes some important points about the conflict. One is the tendency of some analysts, myself included, to be too quick to ascribe ethnic labels and motivations to the key players. The situation is more complicated than that, with clan affiliations, personal ties, and other considerations often more important. He also delves into the unique religious and cultural backdrop of Liberia to explain some of the seemingly wierd and grotesque practices that became hallmarks of this conflict -- like the transvestism and ritual cannibalism practiced by some of the combatants.

One can't help but conclude that, for all Liberia has been through in the last twenty years, it still has a long way to go to find some political equilibrium, much less to achieve its promise. Charles Taylor, while more clever and formidable than most of his predecessors in the Executive Mansion, is at least as brutal and venal as any of them, including the late Samuel Doe. And, sadly, Taylor appears incapable of mending the deep wounds that still beset Liberia. No one will be surprised if he, too, is toppled by yet another self-aggrandizing military man out to plunder the country. Liberia deserves better.


Liberia Unmasked   July 5, 2000
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

The author has drawn on an impressive range of sources to give us an in-depth look at the Liberian civil war. The book is like an onion: the outer later is a description of what happened; the second lays out the historical, social and economic framework, and the core discusses contributing psychological and spiritual factors.

Whether or not you accept his analysis of the role which traditional religious ritual played in the way in which the war was carried out, the fact remains that the Liberian warlords, most of whom had enough education to know what they were doing, consciously manipulated young, poor and uneducated soldiers to commit murder, torture, rape and terror in the interests of seizing power and the spoils of war. When foreign governments intervened, more often they did more harm than good. There are no heroes in this book.

If there is a weakness in Ellis's analysis, it is in the period of the 70s and 80s; he gives somewhat cursory attention to the failings of the Tolbert regime which led to the 1980 coup and to the dynamics between the Doe government and the international community, especially the United States and its short term interests in the country. As a result, no meaningful conclusions can be drawn as to how and when the rapid descent into madness might have been prevented--despite an acknowledgement that things could have turned out differently. This is a minor cavil to an otherwise perceptive study of the nature of the challenges facing Liberia if it is to take up again the task of nation building.


An amazing read   March 25, 2008
Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Many people who are interested in Africa have always been disappointed that there are so few books on Liberia. Liberia has such a fascinating history that it is a shame that it has been ignored for so long. A country that was founded by freed American slaves deserves better. The story of the country is indeed bitter and fascinating. Beginning in the 1830s freed American slaves returned to Africa and began to build a state. They tried to transform their state into a replica of the American south, with manor houses and Masonic lodges and even slaves. It took them a great deal of time to pacify the interior and when they were done they had become only 1-2% of the country. But their influence has been lasting. In 1980 however the Whig party government of America-Liberians was overthrown in a coup by Samuel Doe. By 1990 however he was besieged in his palace in Monrovia (named for U.S President Monroe). He was killed soon after in a bloody death which involved his enemies eating part of him on television. Such was the brutality that had descended on Liberia.

This book is not so much a history of the fall of Liberia or of the rise of Chares Taylor, a one time gas station attendant turned `warlord'. It is also a book about people, tribes and religion and custom in Liberia. It is about the heart and soul of Africa and the amazing diversity of the continent and how colonialism left so many things as they were but injected new things and thus created a `mask of Anarchy' that breaks open from time to time and the world says `this is barbaric'( as was the case in Kenya or Rwanda). But it is not barbarism that one is witnessing, but many unresolved issues coming to light. The first half of the book is a story of war and politics and history which follows the end of the Doe regime and the victory of Charles Taylor in the 1990s. Then it examines the military organizations and civilian life of Liberia. It examines the brutality of war and the arms and drug trade in West Africa and the involvement of international and regional (Ecomog for instance) organizations. It also examines the increasing use of boy-soldiers and the use of amputation and rape as weapons.

There follows a fascinating ethnography of Liberia with discussions of the tribal politics and tribal affiliation, such as the Mande, Mel and kruan. There is then an in depth discussion of secret societies and brotherhoods and Poro and Sande, societies or institutions that have been accused of cannibalism. This is, quite simply, one of the most insightful books on Africa that exists, and although it only deals with one country, it reveals a great deal about West Africa and sub-saharan Africa as well. A fascinating read.

Seth J. Frantzman




Liberia's Civil War   December 9, 2009
John Gibbs (Melbourne, Australia)
Stephen Ellis's book is a fascinating exploration of the little known (to Westerners) history of the Liberian civil war. From 1989 to 1997 war raged across Liberia in West Africa, fuelled by child soldiers wearing women's clothing and wigs for "spiritual protection", while high on marijuana and cane juice. The war was characterised by mindless brutality, relentless looting, and constant quests for greater power provided by spiritual forces, such as through tearing out and eating the hearts of conquered warriors.

The book provides important insights into the causes of violence and war, and it provides a well-researched source of information. However, the content is at times repetitive and some of the author's opinions are puzzling. For example, he seems to consider it politically incorrect to talk about cannibalism, but it is fine to talk about human sacrifice. Both practices have been engaged in extensively by those seeking to obtain power from the spiritual world.

The civil war essentially ended when the most powerful of the warlords, Charles Taylor, defeated the others, thereby obtaining a monopoly on violence and looting. In 1997 he was elected apparently legitimately (the people didn't want him to keep fighting for power), but the war started up again in 2000. Taylor is now on trial for war crimes, and the country is trying to recover from the devastation of the past 25 years.


"Canon of the Liberian War."   January 23, 2009
EMMANUEL WOODS
In this book, I got important informations that are very inportant in understanding the importiant factors that lead to the Liberian war.I grew up in Liberia and I was affected by the war, all of my experiences and knowledge of the conflict is vividly explained as if I am the writer.
The writer analytical and contextualized informations are needed for every socialogist, pyscholgist and religious to read so that they can get vital informations for properly understanding the issues that led to the Liberian conflict.
This book is simply the best, becuase it is spellbounding! I hope that all Liberians who will be leaders in any capacity read it. As a theolgian it has help me extremely well because the religious issues in Liberia that he explained in this book cannot be found in Seminaries.