The effectiveness of the use of air power in the context of post-cold war international interventions in the internal conflicts of weak states: the case of sierra leone, 1991-2002
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18667/cienciaypoderaereo.8Keywords:
Aerial force, conflict, illegal armed organizations, intervention, neo-patrimonial state, state capabilitiesAbstract
Whether used to provide logistical support for military operations or as a means to attack enemy combatants, aerial force in all its forms can be a decisive element in armed confrontations between actors with limited military capabilities, such as in civil wars in developing countries. This article conducts a case study of the use of aerial power during the civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002), a country without a national air force. The text opens a line of inquiry into the international aerial intervention, and the consequences of this intervention for the resolution of the conflict. First, the article presents an historical and theoretical analysis of the capabilities of the state of Sierra Leone, and studies how these conditions contributed to the structural causes of the war. Next, the text analyzes the international intervention, focusing on the characteristics and significance of the aerial forces employed. The article concludes by arguing for the necessity of aerial force in shortterm interventions such in the case of Sierra Leone; however, it also contends that aerial power is not the only necessary factor. Additionally, it demonstrates the role aerial force played in the structural resolution of the conflict.
Downloads
References
Abdullah, I. (1998). Bush path to destruction: the origin and character of the Revolutionary United Front/Sierra Leone. En The Journal of Modern African Studies. 36 (2), pp. 203 - 235.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X98002766
Allen, C. (1978). Sierra Leone. En Dunn, John (Ed). West African States: Failure and Promise, pp.189 - 210. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Ayoob, M. (2007). State Making, State Breaking and State Failure. En Leashing the Dogs of War: Conflict Management in a Divided World, pp. 95 - 114. Crocker, Chester; Hampson, Fen Osler y Aall, Pamela (eds). Washington D.C.: United States Institute for Peace.
Banégas, R. (1998). De la guerre au maintien de la paix: le nouveau business mercenaire. En Critique internationale. 1 (1), pp. 179 - 194.
https://doi.org/10.3406/criti.1998.1365
Bayart, J. F. (1991). L'État. En Coulon, Christian et Martin, Denis- Constant (eds). Les afriques politiques, pp. 213 - 230. Paris : La découverte.
BBC News. (1997). ECOMOG denies Sierra Leone air raid. 17 de diciembre. Disponible en http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/40271.stm Consultado el 28 de abril.
Bøås, M. (2005). The Liberian Civil War: New War/Old War?. En Global Society. 19 (1), pp. 73 - 88.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1360082042000316059
Morten B. (2001) Liberia and Sierra Leone: Dead Ringers?. The Logic of Neopatrimonial Rule. En Third World Quarterly. 22 (5), pp. 697 - 723.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01436590120084566
Cooper, T. & Chick, C. (2004). Sierra Leone: 1990 - 2002. Artículo del Air Combat Information Group (ACIG). Disponible en: http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/printer_462.shtml Consultado el 22 de abril de 2013.
Costs of War. (n.d.). Estimated Dollar Costs of Wars in $ Billions. Disponible en: http://costsofwar.org/article/economiccostsummaryConsultado el 30 de abril de 2013.
Dorman, A. (2009). Blair's Successful War: British Military Intervention in Sierra Leone. Burlington: Ashgate.
Elite UK Forces. (n.d.). Special Air Services (SAS) - Operation Barras - Sierra Leone. Disponible en: http://www.eliteukforces.info/special-airservice/sasoperations/operation-barras/ Consultado el 29 de abril de 2013.
Fitzsimmons, S. (2009). The Cultural Foundations of Military Performance in the Sierra Leona Civil War. Ensayos de la Canadian Political Science Association. Disponible en http://www.cpsa-acsp.ca/ papers-2009/Fitzsimmons1.pdf Consultado el 24 de abril de 2013.
Fukuyama, F. (1989). The End of History? En The National Interest. (Verano).
Haass, R. (2008). The Age of Nonpolarity: What Will Follow U.S. Dominance. En Foreign Affairs. 87 (3), pp. 44 - 56.
Hayward, F. (1989). Sierra Leone: State consolidation, fragmentation and decay. En Cruise O'Brien, Donal; Dunn, John y Rathbone, Richard (Eds). Contemporary West African States, pp. 165 - 180. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511521614.011
Howe, H. (1998). Private security forces and African stability: the case of Executive Outcomes. En The Journal of modern African Studies. 36 (2), pp. 307 - 331.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X98002778
Leboeuf, A. (2005). La reforme britannique du secteur de la sécurité en Sierra Leone: vers un nouveau paradigme ?. En Politique africaine. 98, pp. 63 - 78.
https://doi.org/10.3917/polaf.098.0063
Little, K. (1955). Structural Change in the Sierra Leone Protectorate. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 25 (3), pp. 217 - 234.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1157103
Médard, J. F. (1991). L'État néo-patrimonial en Afrique noire. En Médard, Jean-François (ed). États d'Afrique noire : formations, mécanisme et crise, pp. 323 - 353. Paris: Karthala.
Nye, J. (2001). Military Deglobalization?. Long-distance military interdependence is taking new forms. Foreign Policy. 122, pp. 82 - 83
https://doi.org/10.2307/3183232
Peters, K. (2011). War and the Crisis of Youth in Sierra Leone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511976896
Talentino, A. K. (2006). ECOWAS, the UN, and Sierra Leone. En Talentino, Andrea Kathryn. Military Intervention after the Cold War. (200 - 238). Athens (Ohio): Center for Internacional Sudies.
The World Bank. (s.f.). GDP (current US$)". Disponible en: http://data.worldbank.org/ indicator/ NY.GDP.MKTP.CD Consultado el 30 de abril de 2013.
Venter, Al. (2011). Gunship Ace: The Wars of Neil Ellis, Helicopter Pilot and Mercenary. Haverton: Casemate.
Waltz, K. (1979). Theory of International Politics. New York: Random House.
Waltz, K. (1993). The Emerging Structure of International Politics. En International Security. 18 (2), pp. 44 - 79.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2539097
Weber, M. (1997). Economía y Sociedad. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Woods, Larry y Reese, T. (2008). Military Interventions in Sierra Leone: Lessons From a Failed State. Fort Leavenworth (Kansas): Combat Studies Institute Press.
Acuerdo de Abijan del 30 de noviembre de 1996. Disponible en: http://peacemaker.un.org/sierraleone-peace-agreement-RUF96
Plan de paz de Conakry. 23 de enero de 1997. Disponible en: http://peacemaker. un.org/sierraleone-onakrypeaceplan97
Acuerdo de Lomé. 7 de julio de 1999. Disponible en:http://peacemaker.un.org/sierraleone-lome-agreement99
Cese al fuego de Abuya. 10 de noviembre de 2000. Disponible en:http://peacemaker.un.org/sierraleonecessationhostilitiesruf2000
Cese de hostilidades entre el RUF y las Fuerzas de Defensa Civil. 15 de mayo de 2001 Disponible en: http://peacemaker.un.org/node/1973
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Assignment of Copyrights
Authors assign Ciencia y Poder Aéreo journal the exclusive rights (reproduction, distribution, public communication, and transformation) to exploit and commercialize their work, in whole or in part, in all the formats and modalities of present or future exploitation, in all languages, throughout the life of the work and throughout the world.
All contents published in Ciencia y Poder Aéreo journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, whose complete information is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Under the terms of this license, users are free to download, print, extract, archive, distribute and publicly communicate the content of articles, provided that proper credit is granted to authors and Ciencia y Poder Aéreo, scientific journal of the Graduate School of the Colombian Air Force. Except when otherwise indicated, this site and its contents are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
For other uses not considered under this license it is required to contact the Director or the Editor of the journal at the e-mail address cienciaypoderaereo1@gmail.com.
The Graduate School of the Colombian Air Force and this publication are not responsible for the concepts expressed in the articles, including the metadata or the affiliation stated by authors. This is the full responsibility of the authors.
