A Response to Ilmari Käihkö’s “On Brokers, Commodification of Information and Liberian Former Combatants”

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a recent article in Civil Wars, Ilmari Käihkö criticizes my research approach of collaborating with ex-commanders to study their own ex-command structures. While I welcome a discussion concerning the pros and cons of employing this approach, it must be based on a correct representation of the methods that I have used. Käihkö does not do this in his article, and he makes a number of false statements about my research. My ambition with this paper is to set the record straight and pave the way for a more productive discussion about how to best study ex-command structures.