Tag Archives: West Africa
Côte d’Ivoire’s Ethnic, Religious, and Geographical Divisions
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) may no longer be physically divided, but the scars of its long conflict will linger for years to come. Even if public administration has returned to the north, cocoa producers need no longer export via neighboring countries, and the financial system has been restored, fear still stalks the countryside. Violence persists. Drivers need to avoid troubled areas. And a focus on prosecution of the losers instead of reconciliation ensures that resentment will continue to fester.
Although it was once West Africa’s best run country, Côte d’Ivoire has long suffered from deep ethnic and geographical inequities that made conflict much more likely. As the following maps show, these inequities can be traced back to colonial times, and to the policies followed by successive governments since independence. Unbalanced development is a recipe for trouble in countries divided into a number of large ethnic groups. (more…)
More on Africa, Conflict and Security, Elections, Fragile States, Identity, Maps, Poverty
West Africa: Ethnic Divisions, State Fragility, and Regional Solutions
There has been a lot of bad news out of West Africa recently. Coup d’états have destabilized Mali and Guinea-Bissau. Nigeria has seen a series of terrorist attacks. Toureg rebels have conquered northern Mali and declared independence. Cote d’Ivoire is still recovering from its civil war. Meanwhile, there are reports about drug trafficking, al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, and a food crisis in the making.
No region in the world has more fragile states than West Africa. The region, which consists of the fifteen countries stretching from Senegal to Nigeria, exemplifies the problems of state building when surrounded by other fragile states. Pint-sized, expensive markets keep most countries isolated from the dynamic changes globalization is bringing elsewhere. The region’s aggregate GDP is roughly the same as Norway’s—despite having over fifty times more people. Although Ghana and Senegal have made significant political and/or economic gains in recent years, most of the other states have been rocked by war, ethnic or religious clashes, political unrest, famine, or serious economic dislocation at various times over the past two decades. (more…)
Innovation in Institution Building: Scott Family Fellows
One of the largest problems in fragile states is how the government operates. There is a enormous shortage of capable managers and executives to staff key organizations. Externally driven initiatives aimed at improving capacity generally fall far short of expectations.
Recruiting professionals from outside the country to work either in specific positions or as special assistants to senior officials is one of the best ways to fill immediate needs, transfer skills, and encourage highly qualified people to relocate permanently to the country. Focusing on young members of the diaspora–including at times diaspora from neighboring countries–increases the chance that individuals will be familiar with local culture and conditions and will be interested in staying longer-term. (more…)
More on Africa, Capacity Building, Foreign aid, Fragile States, Governance, Policies
Côte d’Ivoire: How a Weak National Identity Stirs Conflict
Weak social cohesion and a weak national identity have plagued Côte d’Ivoire since the demise of its charismatic first president, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, in 1993. Once West Africa’s brightest economic star, the country was mired in a civil war for most of the 2000s due to the disenfranchisement of northerners. The fighting in 2011 that led to the end of the Laurent Gbagbo regime was the culmination of this process, but by no means the end of the state’s internal divisions.
Despite its dynamic growth in the 1960s and 1970s, the country depended far too much on Houphouët-Boigny for its unity. When he died, it was left without a sufficiently institutionalized state system of governance and sense of common identity. (more…)
More on Africa, Conflict and Security, Fragile States, Identity
