SUMMARY
[Note to reader: this Country page primarily contains brief information about state-based violence during the period 1946–1974, and to some extent 1975–1988. For more detailed information on organized violence after 1989, please consult the specific Conflict and Dyad pages available on the left-hand side of this page. These pages contain more detailed information regarding all three categories of organized violence in this country from 1989 and onwards (when applicable), as well as detailed information about state-based violence 1975–1988. The left-hand side menu also contains links to Actor pages for all groups involved in organized violence since 1989 in this country, as well as actors involved in state-based violence 1975–1988.]
A French colony until 1960, Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire in French) was for decades after independence an African model of prosperity and diversity. It was the richest country in West Africa and one of the continent's largest economies. Migrant workers from neighboring states congregated in the country and by the 1990s they made up roughly one third of the population. From 1960 until 1993 the political life of the country was dominated by one sole legal party, Parti démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire – Rassemblement démocratie africain (PDCI-RDA), led by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
Ivory Coast’s population consists of around 60 ethnic groups. In general terms the people living in southern Ivory Coast are Christians or animists, whereas the population in the northern part of the country is largely Muslim. During Houphouët-Boigny’s reign, the many ethnic groups coexisted more or less peacefully, as the President skillfully managed to balance the appointment of senior ministers to avoid a buildup of ethnic, regional or religious tensions among the diverse population.
In the 1980s, the economy started to recede, and in 1990 austerity measures were introduced, spurring unprecedented political upheaval, and a wave of demonstrations. As a means to pacify the disgruntled population, the government was eventually forced to agree to establish a pluralist political system. Houphouët-Boigny won the country’s first multiparty presidential elections in 1990. When he died three years later he was succeeded by Henri Konan Bédié. With the death of Houphouët-Boigny, the introduction of multi party politics and the economic recession, the political dynamics changed substantially in the country. Politicians began to play upon ethnic, regional and religious differences and use these as a means to access power. The migrant community was used as a scapegoat for the receding economy and the concept of “Ivorité” (Ivorianness) was introduced. Policies building upon the concept distinguished sharply between Ivorians of “authentic” native origin and those of “mixed” or foreign descent and led to the effective marginalizing of both the Muslim North and the immigrant community.
In 1999 the first coup in the countrys history was staged, reflecting the breakdown of state authority and loss of political stability. However, the main coupmaker General Robert Guei, agreed to hold elections in late 2000, which he subsequently lost. On 19 September 2002, tensions exploded as MPCI, a rebel group consisting mainly of mutinous northern soldiers, launched a rebellion. The group was soon joined by two further rebel movements, emerging in western Ivory Coast. By 2004 these had joined together in FN (Fources Nouvelles, New Forces). Even though a number of peace agreements have been signed, these are yet to be implemented and the country is still divided in two, with the rebels controlling the north.
In the context of the armed conflict between the government and the rebel groups, existing ethnic tensions were further exacerbated. The situation was particularly bad in the cocoa and coffee belt in the so-called Wild West where immigrant workers or “Dioulas” were commonly viewed as rebel sympathizers by the indigenous population. Dynamics in the region led to both one-sided violence and non-state conflict.
Since 1946 Ivory Coast has experienced the intrastate, non-state and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.
