On Tuesday 11 October Liberia is holding presidential and general elections. The researchers of The Nordic Africa Institute will be available to provide analyses and answer questions from journalists.

The researcher Mats Utas is a Cultural Anthropologist who has written several books and many research articles on the civil war in Liberia. He has also been a lecturer at the University of Liberia. In late October Mats will travel to Liberia to conduct field work. Phone: +46 18 56 22 32.

Peace and conflict researcher Anders Themnér is an expert on informal military networks in post-civil war societies. He recently returned after field work in Liberia. Phone: +46 18 56 22 46.

Current and upcoming research projects related to Liberia:

• The Informal Realities of Peacebuilding – Military Networks and Former Mid-Level Commanders in Post-War Liberia. Funded by Sida. Coordinators: Mats Utas and Anders Themnér.
• Navigating between Big Man Politics and Democratisation: Local Perceptions and Individual Agency in Processes of Electoral Violence. Focus on Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mali. Funded by Swedish Research Council. Coordinators: Mats Utas, Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs and Johanna Söderström.'

You can also find information on Liberia on the Nordic Africa Institute's Guide To Africa.