Photo Illustration by Ezinne Osueke / THE REPUBLIC. Source Ref: WIKIMEDIA.
THE MINISTRY OF WORLD AFFAIRS
Liberia’s Convoluted Relationship with the United States
Photo Illustration by Ezinne Osueke / THE REPUBLIC. Source Ref: WIKIMEDIA.
THE MINISTRY OF WORLD AFFAIRS
Liberia’s Convoluted Relationship with the United States
In June 2025, Liberia was elected to a non-permanent seat (2026–2027) on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The announcement was met with jubilation across Liberia as many citizens viewed it as a landmark achievement for their small coastal nation of around 5.5 million people. But with the new position, eyes now turn to how Liberia will vote on the Security Council—particularly in light of its relationship with the United States, a permanent member of the UNSC, Liberia’s biggest ally, and a country who, despite its tilt to more nationalistic policies, is still viewed by many Liberians as a ‘big brother’ or ‘distant stepchild’ based on this shared history.
PRE-INDEPENDENCE: THE LAND OF THE FREE
Liberia’s history has been entangled with that of the US since its formation, with Elihu Root, a former American Secretary of State (1905–1909), referring to Liberia as an ‘American colony’ in the 1910s. Although the land had already been inhabited by natives with a previous history of interaction with the Portuguese and Spanish, most accounts of Liberia’s history have been told from 1816, when the American Colonization Society (ACS) was established in the United States.
While diverse motivations underpinned support of the ACS, its central aim included plans to ‘repatriate freed blacks to Africa.’ To this end, the ACS enjoyed considerable support from the US government and prominent American politicians—including Presidents Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809), James Monroe (1817–1825) (from whom Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, is named), and James Madison (1809–1817), who served as president of the ACS.
In 1819, the ACS benefited from a bill passed by the US Congress allocating $100,000 towards the establishment of a colony, and by the 1820s, the ACS and other colonization societies began repatriating freed Black men from America and the Caribbean, as well as Africans rescued by the US Navy after the abolition of the slave trade to what would later become Liberia. By 1847, the country would declare its independence from the ACS, although the United States did not formally recognize Liberia’s independence until 1862.
Despite the United States’s delayed formal recognition, its influence was evident as repatriated settlers—who were known as Americo-Liberians or Congau—led the design of the Republic of Liberia. Consequently, they mirrored the country after what they knew: America, Christianity, constitutionalism, and the grand desire to create a Black republic.
To this end, the Liberian flag was designed to mirror the flag of the United States, with the main difference being the use of a singular star; the country’s constitution restricts citizenship to people of negro descent, influenced by settlers with experience of slavery and segregation; and the country’s national motto reads ‘the love of liberty brought us here’, despite the fact that a majority of the population weren’t ‘brought’ to the country, but in fact were indigenous to it. This alienation of natives—who constituted over 80 per cent of the population at the time—would later become one of the key factors triggering a turn to military rule in 1980 and subsequent civil wars from 1989–1997 and 1999–2003.
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POST-INDEPENDENCE: COLLECTIVE PROSPERITY OR IMPERIALISM?
Notwithstanding its intertwined history, several critics such as W. E. Burghardt Du Bois and George Padmore have accused America of imperialism in its relations with Liberia. Typically defined as a doctrine, political strategy, practice, state policy, or advocacy that consists of extending power by territorial acquisition or by extending political and economic control outward over other areas, America’s retention of significant influence over Liberian politics and economics has been at the centre of these critiques of imperialism.
Economically, Liberia has largely been dependent on aid and loans from the West—although this is not to excuse the country’s role in the mismanagement of foreign aid and loans, which has also underscored its development. A 1932 report of a committee set up by the League of Nations, in fact, noted that ‘nearly all sums derived from past loans have been used for unproductive expenditures, so that the country has obtained no lasting advantage from the various loans contracted.’ Nonetheless, critics have noted that at the other end of the spectrum lies the strategic use of aid to advance foreign interests.
For instance, through American influence and in exchange for a $5 million loan, Liberia gave American rubber giant Firestone a 100-year concession on 1 million acres of land in 1926. Firestone was at the time the largest rubber plantation on the continent. The country also hosted other significant American businesses, such as the Liberia Mining Company and Pan American World Airways, which operated the Roberts field airport in the 1940s, as well as the Liberian-American-Swedish Mining Company, under which American companies were minority shareholders.
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This dependency on aid and foreign loans still persists to this day—aptly illustrated in the words of former Liberian President William Tubman to former US President Dwight Eisenhower in a 1954 communication, where President Tubman stated:
The stage which development in Liberia has reached is most urgent, in fact almost inescapable, that long term credit sufficiently large and upon terms of amortization our economy can stand be received, otherwise we would be compelled to cut back to such an extent as would be tragic.
Outside of the economy, the United States exerts considerable political influence over Liberia’s domestic and foreign policy through a blend of both hard and soft power. America, for instance, provided military support to Americo-Liberians in their fights with natives, including providing soldiers against the native Krus in 1915. During the First (1914-1918) and Second World War (1939-1945), Liberia aligned with the United States, supplying rubber to the Allied army as well as hosting American soldiers and bases. By the time of the Cold War (1947-1991), Liberia hosted communications equipment to broadcast the Voice of America in the region.
In 2003, moreover, at the height of the Liberian Civil War, US President George W. Bush called for Liberian warlord-turned president Charles G. Taylor to step down. President Taylor himself has claimed that US intelligence agents helped him escape jail in the US before his armed conquest, resulting in Liberia’s first civil war, with media outlets like the BBC and the Boston Globe reporting that US intelligence had used Taylor as an informant from the 1980s.
As it stands, the United States continues to shape public perceptions of Liberia’s political figures. For example, the US sanctions against public officials accused of corruption during George Weah’s presidency (2018–2023) resulted in negative perception ratings.
It is based on this background that critics have called for a renewed approach in US-Liberia relations. In her 26 July 2024 Independence Day speech, Liberian scholar Dr Robtel Pailey stated:
Lest we forget, the United States has taken more from us than it has given. Lest we forget, the United States will always serve its own interests above all else. Once we accept these truths, we will appreciate that a re-imagined Liberia can never be anyone’s ‘stepchild’.
We must forge new strategic partnerships based on mutual benefit and disabuse ourselves of the notion that we have a ‘special relationship’ with America. Truth be told, this so-called ‘special relationship’ only exists in our imagination.
Others, such as Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and former US Ambassador to Liberia, have argued alternatively that the relationship is more of a win-win situation of shared values, referencing America-Liberia treaties of friendship and navigation with Liberia brokered in 1938 and 1962, which aided much-needed commerce to the new Republic. America also provided military support to facilitate internal peace, helped to settle border disputes in 1982 with the British and French, and both countries have also signed bilateral defence pacts.
Additionally, following the end of two Liberian civil wars, the US has been instrumental in the nation’s rebuilding, cancelling $391 million of debt and providing over $1 billion in bilateral assistance. The UN Mission in Liberia, which provided considerable support in Liberia’s post-war security, was backed by over $1 billion of assessed contributions from the US.
Curial sectors such as energy and health remained largely funded by America and other Western partners. The Freeport seaport and the Roberts International Airport, developed by America in the 1940s, remain the largest ports in the country, contributing significantly to the Liberian economy.
American influence has also been critical in pushing through key policy and development initiatives, including a multi-user railway in 2024 and Liberia’s efforts to create a war crimes court, as the country has noted that it is seeking foreign support for the funding of said court.
This partnership is set to continue with Liberia’s ascendancy to a non-permanent UNSC seat. In a July 2025 meeting between Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, both countries pledged to work closely on shared global priorities, including democratic governance and peacekeeping. But a big indicator of the level of American influence on democratic governance and peacekeeping moving forward will most likely be shown in how Liberia votes on Palestine.
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MOVING FORWARD: PALESTINE AND INTERCONNECTED PROSPERITY
Liberia has had a checkered history on Palestine and Israel, with the country notably failing to recognize Palestine until 2011. Liberia was, in fact, one of only 37 countries that voted for Israeli admission to the United Nations (UN) in 1949, and in 1957, several countries had established diplomatic relations with Israel, with Liberia being one of the first African nations to do so.
By the 1960s, Liberia-Israel relations were further developed under President Tubman, including the signing of bilateral agreements and the setting up of bilateral visits. Israel, moreover, helped Liberia set up its security service, providing training, while a 2023 cable leak showed that Israel bribed Liberian officials in return for support at the UN.
But by the 1970s, President Tubman’s successor, William Tolbert, made a significant shift in Liberia’s foreign policy. President Tolbert proceeded to renegotiate concessions, including that of Firestone, and establish relations with Cuba and China.
President Tolbert also diverged from Liberia’s firm pro-Israel stance, and Liberia would also go on to cut ties with Israel in 1973 after the Organization of African Unity severed ties with Israel as a consequence of the October 1973 War in the Middle East. In a 1979 UN address, Tolbert made a case for Palestinian statehood, stating:
It is now widely recognized that the search for a political solution in the Middle East must involve the participation of the Palestinian people. The rights of the Palestinians, including their right to self-determination and to establish an independent Palestinian State if they so desire, can no longer be ignored.
We must equally insist on full recognition and respect for the national rights of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel, especially their right to self-determination and a State of their own. Israel must withdraw from all occupied Arab territories.
But Tolbert would later be removed from power in a bloody coup and replaced by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, who tilted foreign policy more solidly back to America and Israel. In recent times, the Liberian government has largely aligned with Israel, including a visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Liberia to attend the annual conference of the Economic Community of West African States, of which Liberia is a member. Liberian presidents have also made official visits to Israel, including Weah in 2023.
But in December 2023, after some domestic uproar, the Liberian government reversed its initial vote against a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Government officials claimed that the vote had been cast without the backing of then-president Weah, and asked the UN to change its ‘no’ vote to ‘yes’. President Weah later clarified that the vote was not against America, which had opposed the resolution along with Israel and eight other countries, but was toward peace.
With the current Liberian administration entering office in 2023, Liberia has taken a more neutral approach. In September 2024, Liberia abstained from a vote on a resolution demanding an immediate end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine within 12 months. The resolution was opposed by the US, Israel and 112 other countries. But with its ascendancy to the UN Security Council, and its evolving relationship with America, it remains to be seen if it will maintain this neutral approach, as there is now a spotlight on how its votes.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as well as China’s increasing influence in the continent, and America’s foreign policy pivot towards a more nationalistic approach—evidenced in the cancellation of USAID grants which had a significant presence in Liberia—much of Liberia’s current and future development remains tied to America.
It is also critical to note that the interconnectedness of Liberia’s development to America and the West is not entirely due to aid dependency, but also as a result of efforts by the country to position itself to benefit from President Donald Trump’s tilt ‘from aid to trade’.
In July 2025, Liberia was one of five African countries invited to a US-Africa Summit with President Trump. Both countries also held bilateral meetings, with Liberia calling for investment in its mining and mineral sectors. This came a week after Liberia signed a $1.8 billion concession and access agreement with US-owned mining group Ivanhoe Atlantic (formerly Hpx), with the US Embassy in Liberia putting out a statement welcoming the development.
It goes without saying that America’s influence in Liberia remains evident to this day—both socio-politically and economically. Nonetheless, there is still much that is uncertain about how this relationship will continue to unfold, especially with regard to development and dependency⎈
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