Liberia is a country often overlooked on the long list of countries adversely affected by the Cold War. Despite over a century of relative peace and prosperity, the small nation in West Africa would feel the chill of the war between the United States and the Soviet Union. What is interesting is that the Cold War’s effects on Liberia were very indirect. Rather than hosting a proxy war, the effects were much more indirect. Liberia was home to growing internal strife, which built up to a military coup in 1980 which replaced the President with new indigenous leadership. This new leadership led to a decade filled with political repression and various atrocities committed against its own people. Much as in other parts of the world, the violence in Liberia was enabled by the United States, who saw only as far as the country’s anti-Soviet, anti-communist leaders. What led to the coup that ousted Liberia’s government? How did the reactions around the world allow the new government to consolidate power? The politics of the Cold War played an important role in allowing the political upheaval and turmoil in Liberia, in part due to the complicity of the United States Government. In any scholarly discussion about the country of Liberia it is important to understand its unique history. Liberia was founded in the early 1800s by a group called the American Colonization Society. The ACS was an organization composed of people with differing viewpoints. Many of its members were American slaveholders who believed the presence of free Blacks in America was a threat to the slavery-focused society, while some members believed free Blacks would have a better chance at success outside of the United
