ABSTRACT
This chapter employs the author's experience in some Liberian concession reviews to explore the broader context of concession reviews, specifically the ways in which they may encourage or require international cooperation. The misuse—and sometimes the spectacular abuse—of natural resource concessions in the developing world is both a cause and a symptom of regional conflict and international tensions. The Liberia conflict was international even under the strictest definition of the term because it involved a struggle between factions for territorial control across the permeable boundaries between Liberia and its neighbors. The usual internationalized dynamic involves conducting a squeeze play on national governments by involving international organizations and local advocates. There was undoubtedly a coercive element to the internationalization of the Liberian concession reviews that was based on the international community's ability to leverage its funding support and the United Nations timber sanctions to promote reform through concession reviews.
