In 2006, after nearly two decades of civil conflict and instability, Liberia's physical and governance infrastructure was destroyed and its brutalized population was stricken with high levels of illiteracy and unemployment. The newly formed government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was not able to meet the stringent requirements imposed by the global aid architecture at the time. In response to this, the Open Society Foundations and UNICEF, working in collaboration with the Government of the Netherlands, made a commitment to deliver up to U.S.$20 million to Liberia's Ministry of Education to catalyze the recovery of the sector and to support the development of a comprehensive sector plan. The Liberia Education Pooled Fund was launched in May 2008. "Partnership Paradox" presents the realities of Liberia's post-conflict educational recovery and the inherent paradox of the partnerships that are necessary to support it. The contributors to this volume have provided first-hand accounts of their engagement in the immediate post-conflict phase of Liberia's educational recovery. Their reflections and analyses offer lessons and insight for a growing field of education and international development specialists. [Foreword by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.]