In depth

Finding out more

Finding out more

Materials produced by Mari Luz Arranz, Blai Carandell and Jone Lauzurika.

On the occasion of the round table discussion Where next for Côte d'Ivoire?" organized by the ICIP in April 2011, we produced a collection of resources for analyzing the conflict and political situation in Côte d'Ivoire.

We now offer three types of resources, all of which have been updated:
First, a dossier of resources - Ivorian websites, publications and reports from various NGOs and international organizations.
Second, a timeline that includes the most important parties involved and events that have shaped the country's history since its independence, and which are related to the gestation and subsequent developments of the Ivorian conflict.
Finally, we provide an electoral map that reflects the disparity between the results presented by the Constitutional Council and the Electoral Commission.

RESOURCES DOSSIER

Reports and articles by various international institutions, think tanks and NGOs

Academic articles and monographs on Côte d'Ivoire

  • Akindès, F. (ed.) (2011). Côte d'Ivoire: la réinvention de soi dans la violence. Dakar: Codesria.
  • Bamba, A. (2011). At the Edge of the Modern? Diplomacy, Public Relations, and Mitja Practices During Houphouët-Boigny's 1962 Visit to the United States. Diplomacy & Statecraft, 22 (2), 219-238.
  • McGovern, M. (2011). Making War in Côte d'Ivoire. London: Hurst & Comany.
  • Mitchell, M. I. (2011). Insights from the Cocoa Regions in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana: Rethinking the Migration-Conflict Nexus. African Studies Review. 54(2), 123-144.
  • Tavares, R. (2011). The Participation of SADC and ECOWAS in Military Operations: The Weight of National Interests. African Studies Review, 54 (2), 145-177.

Audiovisual materials on Côte d'Ivoire

Video produced by the United Nations on the situation of Ivorian refugees in Guinea (in Spanish).

Documentaries:

  • Le crime invisible (2011), by Estelle Higonnet and Raynald Lellouche.
    A documentary on the cases of sexual violence taking place in Côte d'Ivoire between 2002 and 2007.
  • The dark side of chocolate (2011), by Roberto Romano and Miki Mistrati. 46'
    A group of journalists investigates how human trafficking and child exploitation in Côte d'Ivoire sustains the world's cocoa industry.
  • Chroniques de guerre en Côte d'Ivoire (2008), by Philippe Lacôte. 52'
    The director of the documentary films the neighbourhood where he grew up during the first two weeks of war in Côte d'Ivoire after the outbreak of violence in September 2002.
  • Shadow Work (2008), by Nigel Walker. 52'
    A documentary portraying Charles Ble Goudé, the man behind the political violence that took place during the presidency of Laurent Gbagbo.

TIMELINE OF THE CONFLICT

1842:
France imposes a protectorate over Côte d'Ivoire.
1893:
Côte d'Ivoire becomes a French colony.
1944:
Félix Houphouët-Boigny founds a union of African farmers, from which the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), the organisation in the fight for independence, emerges.
1960:
Independence. A presidential and theoretically multiparty system is established.
1960 - 1990:
One-party government under the presidency of Houphouët-Boigny. After a period of economic prosperity and political stability that led the country to be described as the "African miracle," the economic crisis in the mid-1980s leads to demands for increased democracy. The Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) and the Union of Democratic Republicans (RDR) are established as underground movements.
1990:
Legalization of opposition parties and the first multiparty presidential elections. Houphouët-Boigny wins, and appoints Alassane Dramane Ouattara as prime minister.
1993:

Houphouët-Boigny dies. His close collaborator, Henri Konan Bédié, becomes president. He introduces the policy of ivoirité, the origin of the North-South divide. This policy includes laws discriminating against people originating in the north of the country (mostly Muslims speaking the Diola language), who are considered foreigners.

1995:

Bédié is re-elected in an election boycotted by the opposition parties in protest at the amendment to Article 35 of the Constitution, establishing the need to prove the Ivorian nationality of candidates' parents. Bédié thereby neutralizes his main rival Ouattara.

1999:

Coup d'etat led by General Robert Guéï. The laws that act as the basis for ivoirité are not repealed.

2000:

Guéï proclaims himself winner of the presidential elections, but a popular uprising forces him to flee. The FPI candidate Laurent Gbabgo is proclaimed president.

Violence breaks out between Gbagbo's followers, who are mostly southern Christians, and northern Muslims supporting Ouattara (RDR).

2002:

Failed coup attempt led by the northern-based armed group Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire (MPCI).

The MPCI effectively takes control of the north. The North-South divide in the country is institutionalized by the creation of the security zone patrolled by UN forces, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and French Force Licorne troops.

Robert Guéï is killed in mysterious circumstances. His death leads to the emergence of armed groups in the west that merge with the MPCI under the name Forces Nouvelles (FN) under the command of General Guillaume Soro.

2003:

The Linas-Marcoussis peace agreement is signed by all parties to the conflict. The main points of the agreement are:

  • The country's indivisibility
  • Creation of a national unity government with representation for the armed groups
  • Seelection of a consensus-backed prime minister
  • Preparation for elections
  • Demobilization of combatants
  • Creation of new forces including members of the Forces Nouvelles
2004:

Violence breaks out between the FN, the government and the international forces as a result of the failure to implement the agreement.

2005 - 2006:

As a result of the tensions, the elections are postponed twice (2005 and 2006).

2007:

The Ouagadougou political agreement establishes the first direct dialogue between the Government and the FN. Gbagbo and Soro sign the peace agreement.

2007-2009:

The elections are postponed once again. Gbagbo remains in power.

2010:

There is no clear winner in the presidential elections. The runoff leads to a major political crisis and further violence.

The electoral commission declares Ouattara the victor, with 54% of the vote. The pro-Gbagbo Constitutional Council alleges fraud and declares Gbagbo the winner. Violence breaks out again.

The international community (UN, EU, AU, ECOWAS) recognizes Ouattara as the legitimate winner.

2011/02:

The UN forces warn that the violence is reaching levels similar to the civil war.

2011/04:

Ouattara's forces capture Gbagbo.

2011/05:

Alassane Ouattara begins his presidential term.

2011/09:

The Truth, Reconciliation and Dialogue Commission is established in order to restore national unity after the post-election violence, which causes around 3,000 deaths and displaces 500,000 people.

2011/11:

The Ivorian authorities hand over ex-president Gbagbo to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity.

ELECTORAL DIVISION IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

The map below shows the results of the 2010 presidential elections in Côte d'Ivoire. It permits comparison of the results given by the Conseil Constitutionnel and by the Commission Electorale Indépendante (which were endorsed by the United Nations, in its certification role, as well as by the international community).
Despite the similarities, except for a discrepancy in just one region, the Conseil Consitutionnel declared 7 departments null (marked in red), which led Laurent Gbagbo to claim victory, in breach of Article 64 of the Ivorian Electoral Code, which states that the provisional results of the elections must be endorsed or new elections must be called within 45 days.

N.B.: The data used for this map come from the newspaper "Abidjan" (www.abidjan.net) and the newspaper "The Economist" (www.economist.com).

Electoral division map

Top of page