Portraits of Instability

9. GUINEA

Leading by force: A coup in December 2008, which followed the death of longtime Guinean President Lansana Conté, put Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara at the helm of West Africa's least stable country. Although little was known about Camara when he declared himself president of Guinea, New York Times journalist Lydia Polgreen offers some insight: "The captain likes to sleep late. Most days he rises well into the afternoon. Sometimes it is not until after sunset. He governs in darkness, his aides whisper, because that is when coups happen, like the one he staged early one December morning."

SEYLLOU/AFP/Getty Images

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