Evolution of Ivorian Popular Front in the Political System of Côte d’Ivoire
The matter of political leadership in West African countries affected by conflicts and instability is significant in terms of its institutionalisation through political parties and organisations. The article seeks to examine the extent to which the formal political structure and functioning of a...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for African Studies
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Ученые записки Института Африки Российской академии наук |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://africajournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Zapiski-2-2023-4-44-56-Alexander-Shipilov.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | The matter of political leadership in West African countries affected by conflicts and
instability is significant in terms of its institutionalisation through political parties and organisations.
The article seeks to examine the extent to which the formal political structure and functioning of a
party reflect the actual political organisation mechanisms enacted in the fragile institutional
environment in the context of civil wars, interethnic violence based on the case of Côte d’Ivoire,
especially in the wake of the Ivorian Civil War of 2002-2011. A particular political organisation under
examination is the Ivorian Popular Front, created by the former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo
and the ruling party in Côte d’Ivoire in 2000-2011. A special attention in the framework of this
analysis is drawn to the issue of the ethnic and tribal basis of the political party emergence and the
significance of this ethnic (religious, regional or any other identity-based) agenda for further
development of the political force and its practical operations. Further analysis is devoted to the role
of a leader, in this case, Laurent Gbagbo, and the formal and informal patronage networks that
emerge surrounding him, the way his political choices reflect identity-based agenda or his
personalised interests. Limitations imposed by a political force in a conflict-ridden West African
environment are examined both in conditions of control of power over the state and after its loss. A
separate question addressed is the matter of a party’s ability to exist without being a dominant
political force and a strong connection to the person of its founder and is there an opportunity for a
political force that suffered a severe military defeat to return to prominence. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2412-5717 3034-3496 |