- April 18, 2011 • 4:00 am PDT
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Filled-in guns represent overall threat level.
Incumbent president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a darling of the West, and deservedly so. The first African female head of state, elected on the backs of women and despite her country’s impoverishment, she wields a pro-western reformist agenda. It’s a damn good story. Sirleaf’s first five years in office have seen improved economic growth. But this fall she will be dealing with high unemployment, an influx of refugees (most of them children from neighboring Ivory Coast), and the politics of the ongoing trial of ex-president Charles Taylor, a man who merits special mention for his homicidal tenure.
Sirleaf is not one to clamp down on opposition, however, and so she has a crowded field of challengers, including a former soccer star and other longtime political figures. If she is voted out, chances are she’ll go quietly.
Threat Level: 3

Filled-in guns represent overall threat level.


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