Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Publications

West Africa Web Links

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Publication Type: Article

Share This
Print the Page

Below are links by topical categories to resources primarily in English providing information generally on conflict in West Africa, particularly the Mano River Union countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. For related web links, see Sierra Leone Web Links, and Regional Resources: Africa. For more USIP resources see Western Africa.

These links complement the Special Report: Responding to War and State Collapse in West Africa.

General Resources

The sites below collect links to other Internet resources which describe the background, history and current events in West Africa.

  • Africa South of the Sahara: West Africa
    An extensive collection of well-annotated links compiled by Karen Fung at Stanford University for the African Studies Association. Includes links to email lists, special projects, databases and archives, articles and documents, NGOs, news and general sources. Organized alphabetically within country (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, region or topic. The web site also has topical categories of links, as well as a site searching capability.
  • African Studies WWW, University of Pennsylvania
    Annotated links from the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania, organized by topic and by African country. Country links vary according to individual country but generally include a flag image, map, documents, language resources, regional resources, etc.
  • INCORE guides to Internet sources on conflict and ethnicity
    A selective list of annotated links to news sources, articles and documents, NGOs, maps, general sources, etc. from the Initiative on Conflict Resolution & Ethnicity, a joint project of the University of Ulster and the United Nations University. Includes a general guide on Africa, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
  • Index on Africa
    The web site for Index on Africa, a project of the Norwegian Council for Africa, contains extensive annotated links organized by topical category and country. Also includes news and information, and discussion boards. Within each individual country page, (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone), links are organized by subject category. Includes the date a specific link was added and the tabulation of hits since then. Search capability and a news list subscription are also available for the web site.

Government Agencies, International Organizations and Regional Initiatives

African Union

  • African Union
    Successor organization to the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the African Union's web site has news and events, documents, a listing of member states (including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) and related web links.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

United Nations

  • Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN): West Africa
    IRIN, a unit of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), provides a clearinghouse of information for humanitarian and international communities on the crises in sub-Saharan Africa. Its web site contains special reports and news briefs organized by country and region. Includes links to related web sites and contains a special January 2002 report on the Mano River Union. An e-mail subscription for IRIN reports is also available.
  • Reliefweb: West Africa: The Latest
    Sponsored by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this site provides extensive current news and information on a broad range of humanitarian relief issues in West Africa and worldwide. The web site includes maps, a archive of documents, links to related sites and a search engine. It has the latest news and information on complex emergencies and by individual country.
  • UNHCR: Country of Origin and Legal Information
    The web site for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has databases for country of origin and legal information documents and reports. Pull-down menus allow selection by country and/or subject and a specific search engine feature is also provided. Each country compilation includes links to country reports, legal documents, news and maps.
  • United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)
    The web for this UN peacekeeping mission describes the mission's mandate, background information, links to latest news, documents, including Security Council Resolutions, maps and fact sheet.

United States

Maps and Guides

  • CIA World Factbook
    Country information for each country, including those in West Africa, covering the geography, people, economy, government, and infrastructure. Includes a map of each country.
  • Maps of Africa
    Maps from the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection of the University of Texas at Austin for West African countries include: Guinea Maps, Liberia Maps and Sierra Leone Maps. These maps were produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
  • ReliefWeb Map Centre: West Africa
    Regional maps from the ReliefWeb Map Centre include situational maps of refugees and links to maps for each country.
  • Your Nation
    An interactive database with information derived from the CIA World Factbook, Your Nation allows the user to compare or rank statistics for any two countries or display a statistical summary for an individual country. Settings are customizable.

Media and News Sources

Peace Agreements and Political Resources

  • African Governments on the WWW
    Part of a web site of world-wide governments on the web collecting links of all aspects of a country's official representation on the Web, including internal and external ministries, embassies, missions to the United Nations and related web sites.
  • USIP Peace Agreements Digital Collection
    Includes the full text of peace agreements related to the conflicts in Guinea Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
  • Political Resources on the Net: Africa
    Links to information on elections, various political parties and organizations, news and general resources for each individual country (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, . Also includes links to other web sites for resources on Africa.

Updated: January 27 2004

Latest Publications

In Europe, Xi Looks to Boost Ties — and Sow Divisions

In Europe, Xi Looks to Boost Ties — and Sow Divisions

Thursday, May 16, 2024

By: Andrew Scobell, Ph.D.; Mirna Galic; Mary Glantz, Ph.D.; Katie Ruppert

Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week made his first trip to the European continent in five years, visiting France, Hungary and Serbia. In Paris, Xi faced tough questions over trade and China’s support for Russia and its war in Ukraine, but met a much friendlier reception in Budapest and Belgrade, both of which view China as a key economic and political partner. Still, the visit demonstrated the obstacles Beijing faces in fostering deeper ties across Europe, where resentment is simmering over China’s moral and materiel aid to Russia and what Europe views as unfair trade practices.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

Traumatic Decarbonization in Fragile States

Traumatic Decarbonization in Fragile States

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

By: Aditya Sarkar; Benjamin Spatz; Alex de Waal; Jared Miller; Tarun Gopalakrishnan

The process of decarbonization—that is, the replacement of fossil fuels with non-hydrocarbon-based forms of energy—is essential for meeting the climate goals articulated by international agreements. But in fragile, oil-dependent nations, where hydrocarbon revenues are often a key means of political control, decarbonization can spell the difference between peace and conflict. This report examines the consequences of the sudden loss of oil revenues for fragile, conflict-affected states and provides recommendations for policymakers on how to manage future decarbonization peacefully.

Type: Peaceworks

Conflict Analysis & Prevention;  Economics;  Environment;  Fragility & Resilience

China’s Edge in the Pacific Islands: Xi Jinping Makes Time for Leaders

China’s Edge in the Pacific Islands: Xi Jinping Makes Time for Leaders

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

By: Camilla Pohle

If the U.S. government wants an edge over China in the Pacific Islands, it needs to facilitate more meetings between the president of the United States and regional leaders, preferably one-on-one. When Pacific Island leaders fly to Beijing, they often have a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but such a meeting between the leader of a Pacific Island country and a sitting president of the United States has never taken place. The White House has only conducted joint meetings with Pacific Island leaders. Sometimes even joint meetings don’t make the cut.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

At the Sahel’s Center, Tension Rises Over Chad’s Disputed Election

At the Sahel’s Center, Tension Rises Over Chad’s Disputed Election

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

By: Dr. Yamingué Bétinbaye; Kamel Fakhry; James Rupert

A disputed presidential election in Chad last week is making few global headlines, but poses new risks to African and international efforts to reverse the Sahel region’s spreading instability, conflict and human displacement. Chad is centered in the world’s largest belt of military rule: six nations across Africa that have suffered armed coups since 2020. Among them, Chad is the first to hold elections to restore civilian rule. But a string of setbacks to a fully credible vote has yielded a contested result that risks further domestic conflict and a narrowing of popular legitimacy for the next government, led by the incumbent transitional president, Mahamat Idriss Deby.

Type: Analysis

Global Elections & Conflict

View All Publications