1. The Causes of the Civil Wars in Côte d’Ivoire Matt Ayers GO455: Conflict & Crisis in Africa, Department of Government, Colby College, Waterville, ME Background, Research Question, & Hypotheses Background: Africa is a continent that has a long history in conflict and crisis From colonization, to post-colonization, to the Cold War, to post-Cold War, to present day, many of the continent’s countries have been at war with their own people or against outsiders from nearby and faraway countries This is the case with Côte d’Ivoire’s civil wars The first civil war started in 2002 and second civil war started in 2010 This project analyzes the reasons as to why Côte d’Ivoire has been unable to remove itself from its internal struggles since 2002 Economic, social, and political factors and events triggered the first civil war in 2002 since beforehand the country was thriving Many of the same factors were still present at the start of the second civil war Research Question: How did the economic and ethnic environments in Côte d’Ivoire effect the outbreak of civil war in 2002 and under what conditions did the second civil war erupt? Hypotheses: 1.The first civil war was partially caused by the steep increase of the percentage of the population living below the poverty line in Côte d'Ivoire during the years leading up to the civil war. 2. The increase of the Muslim population through immigration from their northern neighbors irritated the Ivorians and caused an ethnic, cultural, economic, and political divide to develop between the northern and southern halves of the country. 3. The Ivoirians’ strong association with Ivoirité, or what it means to be and what makes an Ivorian, and their perception of the culture of their country only strengthened the cultural divide and influenced the first civil war. 4. The 2006 peace talks did not adequately resolve the problems that led to the first civil war, resulting in the second civil war. Methods Chronicled several peer-reviewed essays on African conflicts and the civil wars in Côte d’Ivoire Analyzed how the internal conflicts in Côte d’Ivoire started and what influenced the civil wars Explored the implications that economic and social structures had on these civil wars Economic shock Muslim immigration Idea of Ivoirité Role of Côte d’Ivoire National Soccer Team in ceasefire and the end of the first civil war Findings Key Findings with Economic Shock and Poverty Rates: Economy thrived in 1960s and 70s; experienced healthy growth rates (Dabalen & Paul) Began to decline because of “a combination of economic shocks and lack of competitiveness” in the 1980s and 90s (Dabalen & Paul) Made way for an increase in poverty from 10 per cent in 1985 to 48.9 per cent in 2008 (Dabalen & Paul) “The declining state-run welfare system and rising unemployment gradually created political turmoil leading to an attempted coup in 1999” and “an armed rebellion in 2002 that split the nation in two” (Dabalen & Paul) Fig. 1: Côte d’Ivoire is on the West coast of Africa Fig. 2: Shows the rebels controlled the North and the government had the South with buffer zone in between Fig 3.: Government troops attack a perceived member of the rebel group Works Cited Akindès, Francis Augustin. The Roots of the Military-political Crises in Cote D'Ivoire. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 2004. Print. Dabalen, Andrew L., and Saumik Paul. "Recovering Comparable Poverty Estimates in Cote d'Ivoire." The Journal of Development Studies 49.10 (2013): 1412-26. ProQuest. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. Hayes, Alex. "Didier Drogba Brings Peace to the Ivory Coast." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 8 Aug. 2007. Web. Launay, Robert and Marie Miran. 2000. “Beyond Mande Mory: Islam and Ethnicity in Côte d’Ivoire.” Paideuma 46: 63-84. Witness, Global. HOT CHOCOLATE: HOW COCOA FUELLED THE CONFLICT IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE (2007): n. pag. Global Witness. The Foundation Open Society Institute (Zug), Irish Aid, the Sigrid Rausing Trust and the Doen Foundation, June 2007. Web. Fig. 4: Shows the growth in poverty levels from 1985 to 2008 Key findings with Increased Immigration: Immigration increased as a result of the economic boom of the 1970s and 1980s for labor purposes (AKINDÈS) 1998 census: population was 15,366,672, with 26.03% immigrants (AKINDÈS) Immigrants from the north could become more involved in the economy by moving south and converting to Islam (Launay) The economic downturn uncovered the social divisions that were poorly integrated (AKINDÈS) Immigrants’ labor participation rate was 57.9%, while Ivoirians’ participation rate was 47.7% (AKINDÈS) Developed a divide between the Ivoirians and the foreign immigrants Fig. 5: Shows there was greater poverty among the Northern populations Fig. 6: Shows top nationalities that immigrated Key Findings with Ivoirité: Defined as “the reinvention of a collective Ivoirian persona, in reaction to the effect of more than three decades of economic openness” (AKINDÈS) A response to the “foreign” immigrants taking Ivoirians jobs and effecting the economy Introduced by Henri Konan Bédié “as a means of discrediting his main adversary in the eyes of the national public and of ensuring his own political survival” (AKINDÈS) General Guei ̈ I, winner of the 1999 coup, also eventually also used it to stay in power (AKINDÈS) Laurent Gbagbo, came to power in October 2000, also used it as “the heart of the armed conflict that pitted the armed rebel movements against the government” (AKINDÈS) It was a “retreat from the moralization of public life” (AKINDÈS) Emphasized the already existing divide between the Ivoirians and the immigrants, the north against the south Key Findings With the End of the First Civil War and the Start of the Second: May 2003: full ceasefire is agreed and A UN mission, “is set up to facilitate the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis peace accord” (Witness) Power sharing agreement signed in Paris in 2003, by President Gbagbo (kept power) and the Forces Nouvelles, FN, (invited to government) and it ended the first civil war (Witness) September 2003: FN pull out of government, condemning Gbagbo of breaking the peace agreement (Witness) Fighting continues until Gbagbo met with other political leaders in South Africa and the Pretoria Agreement was signed (Witness) It called for the end of all violence, but presidential elections were delayed causing more violence (Witness) 2006 when Didier Drogba and the Côte d’Ivoire National Soccer Team plead for peace and bring the two sides together peacefully (Hayes) Allowed for agreement between Gbagbo and Guillaume Gbagbo is president and Soro is prime minister (Witness) Fig. 7: Côte d’Ivoire’s Neighbor Countries