Liberia: Sweden’s Exit Is Liberia’s Test of Statehood

Sweden has closed its embassy in Monrovia and ended its bilateral development assistance to Liberia. What has departed is not merely a donor and a diplomatic flag. Liberia has lost one of the most consistent partners in its postwar recovery, and the country has been handed a brutally clear warning about the danger of allowing essential public functions to depend on decisions made in foreign capitals.

This is not only a health story. It is a story about roads connecting farmers to markets;…