Human security and Sierra Leone's post-conflict development /

This compact book focuses on "human security" as defined in the 1994 UN Development Program report. Wiafe-Amoako (Univ. of Toronto, Canada) concentrates on four of its seven elements, combining them with detailed analysis of post-2002 Sierra Leone legal, economic, and security changes. The country was ripped by civil war during the 1990s, the result of spillover from conflict in neighboring Liberia, blatant ethnic favoritism by Sierra Leone's rulers, inequitable exploitation of the country's mineral resources, and the like. More than two million people were displaced. Reestablishing basic security and restarting development proved difficult in the face of multiple challenges. This book is organized into six chapters. The author first puts human security into the "conflict puzzle." He then concentrates on political and civil reforms, economic reforms, and personal security reforms. The concluding chapter looks broadly at human security in light of post-conflict policy changes. Wiafe-Amoako interviewed approximately 100 government officials, primarily in the capital and provinces affected by the civil war, in addition to examining statutory changes. More attention could have been given to volunteer agencies because NGOs and INGOs can and have played important roles in reestablishing human security. Overall, a good summary of recent changes. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate and graduate collections. --Claude E. Welch, University at Buffalo, SUNY