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Analysis of the failure of the Cotonou Agreement. Cotonou is a defined chapter in Liberia's recent history that begins with the signing of the agreement in October 1993 and ends at Akosombo on 6th September 1994. This study sets out to explain why it failed. There are several conditions and developments that predate the agreement that were nevertheless highly relevant to the possibility of its success or failure; for example Liberia's recent history, political development and tribal demography. These issues are evaluated in the first part of the report. The main purpose of the study is to decide whether Cotonou was an inherently flawed process and therefore had no chance of success, or whether it was allowed to founder through mismanagement and ill-judgment. In the final section the report draws lessons and makes recommendations on the conduct of demobilisation, the need to deploy a stronger UN executive capability in the field, the recurring mistakes made by negotiators of peace agreements and the advantages and disadvantages of regional peace forces; it also questions whether the internationally community can hope to succeed in future complex emergencies without developing a more coherent strategy. [author]

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