Promoting Political Participation in War-torn Countries: Microlevel Evidence from Postwar Liberia

This article uses original survey data to study the effects of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) on the political attitudes and behaviors of ordinary Liberians. Three results emerge: (i) UNMIL has positive, statistically significant effects on political participation measured over multiple outcome indicators; (ii) UNMIL’s effects display heterogeneity across individual outcome indicators, most positive effects are concentrated around measures associated with participation in national politics as well as political interest and efficacy, while the effects on participation in local politics are mixed; and (iii) self-reported measures of citizens’ interactions with UNMIL military personnel and exposure to democracy and to human rights campaigns carried out by international actors have strong positive associations with political participation, suggesting that results are driven by security and nonsecurity mechanisms. This article discusses the implications of these findings and areas for future research.

Duke Scholars

Author Eric Ndahayo Mvukiyehe Political Science