Liberia’s relatively stable and democratic First Republic collapsed into anarchy in 1979 following an increase in rice prices. In 1985 Samuel Doe seized control of the country in a military coup, and over the next twelve years Liberia would remain a hotspot for internal political, as well as military factionist movements. Numerous mediated cease-fires repeatedly failed to achieve lasting peace, and new insurgency groups, like the NPFL led by Charles Taylor, spawned as a result of discontent.

Liberia: A Risk Assessment Brief