Essays on complex emergencies: 1. An examination of the co-existence of violence and democracy in Liberia . 2. The complex emergency in Darfur: a multidimensional catastrophe

Essay 1. While recent violence in Liberia involved a reaction against the hegemony of the Americo-Liberian minority by the indigenous majority, an examination of the co-existence of violence and democracy in Liberia demonstrates that its underlying causes were considerably more complex. In this context, violence and democracy cannot be understood as a simple binary distinction, but as different aspects of the same process of political justification. Essay 2. The complex emergency in Darfur has often been described as resulting from ethnic conflict between Arab and indigenous populations. However, a consideration of relevant historical, political, economic, social, and ecological factors shows that, while the causes of this complex emergency were multidimensional, all may be ascribed to the failure of the Sudanese government to deal with such factors effectively. This conclusion has important implications regarding future international responses to similar complex emergencies.