Dangerous Pursuits: Hunter Associations (Donzo Ton) and National Politics in Côte D'Ivoire

Africa ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Bassett

AbstractThis article examines the resurgence of hunter associations (donzo ton) in Côte d'Ivoire during the 1990s in the context of game depletion, rising crime rates, and a dysfunctional state. Initiated hunters (donzow) are widely respected by the general public for their mystical powers and potent amulets which protect them from malevolent forces in the natural and social worlds. The donzow's success in reducing crime in northern rural areas led to an expansion of the dozon ton to the national level, as donzow were increasingly employed as private security guards in the country's major cities. The government and political parties also employed donzow to complement the police and gendarmes in maintaining order during the 1995 presidential elections. The attempt by politicians to manipulate the donzo ton during re-election campaigns was frustrated by the decentralised structure of the hunters' organisation and the diversity of its membership. Fearing that the donzo ton would become a politically destabilising force, successive governments have attempted to restrict its activities to the northern savanna region. The policy of containing the donzo ton to its so-called ‘original cultural hearth’ is discussed in the framework of the national cultural identity ideology of ivoirité and its xenophobic political manifestations around the 2000 presidential elections.

Author(s):  
Frederick Cooper

This chapter explores different instances of African claim making. It first looks at the effort of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA) in the Sudan and especially the Côte d'Ivoire to build up its political apparatus across the territory and the efforts of the government to combat what it saw as a countergovernment. The chapter then turns to ways in which African political leaders sought to change the very terms in which future politics was discussed—to rethink the meaning of nation and sovereignty. They were thinking about different levels of political belonging and political action. And as France entered into discussion of creating a European community, they were thinking of expanding the idea of a “Franco-African” political ensemble into something even wider, into “Eurafrica.”


Author(s):  
Peace A. Medie

Chapter 7 studies the implementation of the international women’s justice norm at the national level. It shows how pressure from the United Nations shaped the creation of the specialized units in Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire and thus the implementation of the international women’s justice norm. It draws on a range of interviews, including with personnel of the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire and the with women’s rights advocates, to demonstrate how this international pressure interacted with domestic pressure and conditions to produce varied implementation outcomes. While high international pressure was sufficient for the creation of the speicalized units, high domestic pressure and favorable political and institutional conditions were needed for rapid institutioanlization.


2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. McCauley ◽  
Daniel N. Posner

Under what conditions does religion become a salient social identity? By measuring religious attachment among the people living astride the Burkina Faso–Côte d’Ivoire border in West Africa, an arbitrary boundary that exposes otherwise similar individuals to different political contexts, this article makes a case for the importance of the political environment in affecting the weight that people attach to their religious identities. After ruling out explanations rooted in the proportion of different religious denominations, the degree of secularization and the supply of religious institutions on either side of the border, as well as differences in the degree of religious pluralism at the national level, it highlights the greater exposure of Ivorian respondents to the politicization of religion during Côte d’Ivoire’s recent civil conflict. Methodologically, the study demonstrates the power – and challenges – of exploiting Africa’s arbitrary borders as a source of causal leverage.


1994 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-245
Author(s):  
Okechukwu C. Iheduru

Oneof the intriguing paradoxes of Côte d'Ivoire is that while the political class has become famous for its ‘open-door’ capitalism, the Government headed by Félix Houphouët-Boigny consistently heightened its rhetoric of ‘Ivoirianisation’ through which it purported to indigenise the economy. The fact is that capitalism controlled by foreigners has generally gained the upper hand with state connivance or approval. Where local capitalism exists, it is often spearheaded by the state as participant and competitor, rather than as a facilitator of indigenous enterprise. Shipping offers a good example of this dual approach, where the state became the vanguard of a vigorous national and regional drive for maritime independence, but at the same time pursued its self-declared ‘open-door’ strategy which ensured continued domination of the sector by foreigners.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magali Chelpi-Den Hamer

Following political turmoil and rising socio-economic difficulties, Côte d'Ivoire has been split into two since September 2002. The rebellion controls the northern part of the country and the main towns of Bouaké, Korhogo and Man, while the government controls the southern part with Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, Daloa and all the ports in the coastal area. At the beginning of the war, civil servants who were in place in the north of the country were called back to Abidjan to be redeployed in government-controlled areas. These included many teachers and education officials, but not all, as some of them chose to stay in the war-affected areas to continue their initial work. This article focuses specifically on governmental and local non-governmental initiatives related to education which were put in place at the onset of the crisis. What type(s) of education have been offered to the children in war-affected areas and to the displaced children in government-controlled areas? What have been the difficulties of organizing national examinations in war-affected areas? How have educational attainments been certified on both sides? The study covers the period 2002–06, and is based on document analysis, grey literature collected on site and interviews with key informants.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (35) ◽  
pp. 368
Author(s):  
Pokou Edouard Abou

The objective of this paper is to highlight the effects of domestic work of girls on their school results in Cȏte d’Ivoire. From a probit model, the analysis indicates that domestic work favours, meaningfully, the fact about repeating a school year for the girl child. Besides, the availability of basic services in schools significantly reduces failure of girls in schools in rural areas. Thus, policy makers must equip schools with canteens, toilets for girls, and they should also provide the necessary facilities for drinking water points.


Author(s):  
Koffi Kouablan Edmond ◽  
Yao Saraka Didier Martial ◽  
Kouakou Amani Michel ◽  
N’Zue Boni ◽  
Kobenan Kouman ◽  
...  

Aims: Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) flow in research and development area inside and outside many countries are not indexed or listed and are insufficiently documented. In Côte d’Ivoire, when implementing the Multilateral System (MLS) project, a survey was realized with different actors as well at national as international levels to collect data dealing with exchanges flow characteristics of main food crops as yam, cassava, rice and plantain. The objectives of the current study are i) to know about internal and external exchange flow of genetic resources of yam, cassava, rice and plantain in Côte d’Ivoire, ii) to assess Côte d’Ivoire dependence regarding external PGRFA, iii) to indentify international research agreements or research network facilitating Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) in Côte d’Ivoire and iv) to determine constraints or opportunities related to access to external PGR in the future. Study Design: A questionnaire was submitted to actors managing main consumed food crops in Côte d’Ivoire such as yam, cassava, rice and plantain. Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted in 2019 and sampled data on period starting from 2005 to 2014 about the flow of genetic resources of yam, cassava, rice and plantain inside and outside Côte d’Ivoire located in Western Africa were studied. Methodology: This comprised the collection of data using a questionnaire related to characteristics of PGRFA flow inside and outside Côte d’Ivoire, within institutions in charge of PGRFA. A survey was conducted with national and international actors involved in yam, cassava, rice and plantain genetic resources. Moreover, surveys on PGRFA flow data were supplemented by reports from research programs dedicated to these food crops. Results: Results revealed that genetic resources of yam, cassava, rice and plantain are exchanged at variable levels within different actors. Contrary to plantain, a growth of vegetal material exchange within actors was observed at national level in yam, cassava and rice. PGRFA exchange flow at international level are positively unbalanced in favor of importation from Groupe Consultatif pour la Recherche Agricole Internationale (CGIAR) creating by this way a relatively marked dependence excepted to yam where ongoing varietal breeding relies on local genetic resources. Very few or no data was given back to national research and development institutions and farmers from Côte d’Ivoire on national PGRFA sent outside for breeding purposes. In the same line, neither any law nor regulations were set up at national level to ensure traceability of plant material exchanges according to international agreements and conventions. Conclusion: The consequence of this inventory of fixtures about systems of genetic resources exchange and evolution in Côte d’Ivoire is the lack of regulatory mechanisms allowing populations owning traditional knowledge take profit of an access and a fair sharing of advantages arising from the use of PGRFA as yam, cassava, rice and plantain.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
N'guessan Simon Andon ◽  
Kouadio Augustin Alla ◽  
Kouacou Jean-Marie Atta

The evolution of tropical forest deforestation in Côte d'Ivoire is very alarming. From 16 million hectares in 1900, the area increased to 9 million hectares in 1965 to less than 2.5 million hectares in 2016. Even forests protected by the State of Côte d'Ivoire are not spared while peri-urban protected forests are the most exposed. The finding reveals many shortcomings in the state monopoly of protected area management. Yet, elsewhere in Africa, many experiences of participatory management have shown significant advances in protection and their introduction in Côte d'Ivoire from 1990. To understand the effectiveness of this new consultation framework adopted as a management tool, national policies and locally adopted strategies on the Mount Korhogo classified forest in northern Côte d'Ivoire have been analyzed. Results show a failure of participation at the national level since 1996 and a lack of participation at the local level. Despite the establishment of a local committee for forest defense and fight against bush fires, the lack of consultation undermines the proper functioning of this organization, thus leading to the exacerbation of deforestation. Mount Korhogo Classified Forest.Keywords: participatory management, consultation framework, protected forest, urbanization, deforestation


2013 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Till Förster

Non-separatist insurgents unable to overthrow a sitting government often face a problem successful rebellions can avoid: They are not the only players who can claim to be acting on behalf of the nation. They will have to imagine the nation in a new way that distinguishes them from the older, established nationalism usually promoted by the existing government. This new nationalism aims to legitimise their actions, but first and foremost it has to be attractive to the population in the region under insurgent control and later to others as well. Each camp, the government and the insurgent side, articulates its understanding of the nation to the other side. In the process, both sides often also adopt different forms of imagination to render the specifics of their nationalism more visible to their followers as well as to partisans in the other camp. This article analyses this political articulation by taking Côte d'Ivoire as an example.


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