Published June 11, 2012 | By K. Lawrence, N. Haken, P. Taft, T. Anderson, S. Levine

The year 2011 was an illuminating period with respect to pressures and resilience in Liberia. Early in the year, Liberia experienced significant social pressures from abroad as neighboring Cote d’Ivoire descended into a major political crisis sending thousands of refugees into Nimba and Grand Gedeh counties. Then, internally, Liberia experienced heightened political pressure as the election season peaked in November. Despite this dangerous confluence of conflict drivers and triggers, there were no major outbreaks of violence during the year. Liberia was able to weather external shocks and internal pressure, reinforcing the notion that the country has come a long way since 2004. This report takes a look at Nimba and Montserrado counties within the broader national context, in terms of pressures and resilience throughout 2011 and beyond. It draws on data generated by local civil society networks, from automated content analysis data (from a sample of 28,634 news articles), and a qualitative review of the data, informed by field visits and desktop research.

Published May 15, 2012 | By Samantha Levine

Economic pressures currently present a challenge to the country’s stability. Timor-Leste relies heavily on international assistance, especially to feed its population, and is unlikely to become self-reliant in the near future. A key area for economic improvement is building domestic production facilities in order to tackle the nation’s high rate of unemployment. While political tensions have improved in the past year, political transition after the elections in 2012 will test the country’s stability. Successful elections could result in the full withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping force in Timor-Leste, which would put sole responsibility of governance in the hands of the Timorese for the first time in 13 years. Focus on strengthening institutions and the rule of law will continue to be sorely needed.