Mobilização social, estabilidade política e legitimidade: as sociedades Poro e Sande na formação do estado na paz e nas guerras da Libéria

Abstract

The presence of pre-colonial secret societies in the contemporary Liberian State highlights the discussion of the relationship of indigenous institutions in Africa with the National State and society. Based on this discussion, the present research aims to analyze the influence of the Liberal Poro and Sande secret societies on three dependent variables: legitimacy, political stability and social mobilization, at the time of formation of the State of Liberia in peace and in the armed conflicts of 1989 and 1999. The hypothesis adopted is that in Liberia during the peace period the secret societies Poro and Sande legitimized central government leaders through a socio-political system of local governance, institutionalizing the relationship with society, generating low social mobilization and influencing the political stability of the country. In the war period, the Poro and Sande societies influenced the lack of legitimacy of the government vis-à-vis society, being an instrument of social mobilization and influencing the political destabilization of the regime, which generated the armed conflicts of 1989 and 1999. The study is justified for addressing the state and war in Africa from the perspective of indigenous institutions. Institutions that have resisted colonial violence and are present in modern Africa both through the state as political elites and in parallel or in front of it as insurgent groups. For this, the present research proposes to carry out a case study with hypothetical-deductive method and bibliographic research technique with qualitative variables.