ARAS Vol.33 No. 2 December 2012 74 Maintaining Sovereignty in Africa: The Role of External Forces in Warlord States Max Halupka University of Canberra Cassandra Star Flinders University Abstract The article presents an analysis of the role that external forces play in the maintenance of sovereignty in Warlord states. We focus on the strategies enacted by various warlords in Africa, specifically in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Latham’s concept of ‘transterritorial deployments’ underpins the article’s analysis of African state sovereignty, leading us to argue that in order to maintain sovereignty, rulers of warlord states come to rely upon forms of transterritorial deployment. In this, sovereignty is maintained through a combination of three processes: the auctioning off of state resources, the employment of external actors to fill state roles, and the development of foreign patrimonial networks. This argument provides important insight into local/global interactions and the manner in which they affect perceptions of sovereignty. Moreover, the article highlights the roles that external entities can enact in shaping forms of authority and governance in Africa. Introduction For a ruler of a warlord state, sovereignty is a powerful commodity. It permits an unparalleled level of manoeuvrability in the procurement of personal wealth and allows a ruler to “... manipulate [the] enforcement of laws, to generate globally accepted documents, and to hide clandestine activity behind diplomatic immunity.” 1 In states where personal interest dominates decision making, maintaining sovereign status is of paramount importance. In this article we present an analysis of the role of external forces in the maintenance of state sovereignty, focusing predominantly on several strategies enacted by various warlords in Africa, specifically in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Liberia. To demonstrate the necessity of external actors in the legitimisation of a ruler’s authoritative position, we draw upon Latham’s concept of ‘transterritorial deployments,’ arguing that in order to maintain 1 William Reno,Warlord Politics and African States.(London: Lynne Rienner, 1998),2