Paper short abstract:

The paper analyses forms of governance in a war-affected West African border region. Focusing on economic and marital exchange relations between people of different origin past and present, the paper also questions the relevance of 'exchange theory' for the ethnography of non-state governance.

Paper long abstract:

The paper proposes a comparative analysis of local, national and internationally mediated forms of military and political governance in the war-torn border region between Liberia and Guinea in West Africa. Based on recent fieldwork in both countries by the author, it argues that in order to understand the divergent, emerging forms of governance in the studied area, one must consult both the historical documentation of socio-economic processes, including belligerent events, and local people's memories of the past. Special attention is accorded to economic and marital exchange relations, real or imagined, that bind and separate distinct social groups who have co-existed in a more or less peaceful way during the last century or more. This empirical focus, furthermore, raises the question as to the relevance of 'exchange theory' for the ethnography of non-state governance.

The paper also takes account of the role of state and non-state, international actors and institutions in a period of uncertain, sub-regional political transformation.