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From Stability to Insurgency: the Root and Proximate Causes of the September 2002 Civil War in Cote D'ivoire Bertin K

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From Stability to Insurgency: the Root and Proximate Causes of the September 2002 Civil War in Cote D'ivoire Bertin K Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-10-2009 From Stability to Insurgency: The Root and Proximate Causes of the September 2002 Civil War in Cote d'Ivoire Bertin K. Kouadio Florida International University, Miami, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI09120810 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Kouadio, Bertin K., "From Stability to Insurgency: The Root and Proximate Causes of the September 2002 Civil War in Cote d'Ivoire" (2009). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 115. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/115 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida FROM STABILITY TO INSURGENCY: THE ROOT AND PROXIMATE CAUSES OF THE SEPTEMBER 2002 CIVIL WAR IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS by Bertin K. Kouadio 2009 To: Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences This dissertation, written by Bertin Kouakou Kouadio, and entitled From Stability to Insurgency: The Root and Proximate Causes of the September 2002 Civil War in Côte d’Ivoire, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. _________________________________________ Roderick Neumann _________________________________________ Mohiaddin Mesbahi _________________________________________ Jean M. Rahier _________________________________________ John F. Clark, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 10, 2009 The dissertation of Bertin Kouakou Kouadio is approved. _________________________________________ Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences _________________________________________ Dean George Walker University Graduate School Florida International University, 2009 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this dissertation marks the end of an exciting and difficult journey. I wish to thank my parents, Mr. Koffi Boussou, and Mr. Assida Koffi Ben in Côte d’Ivoire, for believing in me and supporting me throughout these long years. I am indebted to Professors Alma Gottlieb and Philip Graham of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who sponsored me to come continue my education in the United States. I am grateful to the members of my committee for their mentorship, support, and patience. I also like to thank the West African Research Association, Florida/West Africa Linkage Institute, Ivoirian Embassy in Washington D.C., and American Taxpayers for their financial support. I wish to thank the Staff and Faculty of the International Relations department, College of Arts and Sciences, University Graduate School at FIU, and all my friends for their guidance and support. A TOUS MERCI INFINIMENT. iii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION FROM STABILITY TO INSURGENCY: THE ROOT AND PROXIMATE CAUSES OF THE SEPTEMBER 2002 CIVIL WAR IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE by Bertin K. Kouadio Florida International University, 2009 Miami, Florida Professor John F. Clark, Major Professor This dissertation was an analysis of the root and proximate causes of the September 2002 civil war in Côte d’Ivoire. The central question of this study was: Why did Côte d’Ivoire, which was relatively stable under President Houphouët-Boigny, suddenly begin to experience political violence in the 1990s and an explosion in 2002? Côte d’Ivoire was an interesting case because it was stable for a long period of time, apparently making it an infertile ground for conflict. It was also interesting for comparative purposes because of the fact that several states in West Africa (for instance, Benin, Togo, and Ghana) have experienced military coups but not have civil wars. Finally, this case was an opportunity to revisit the debate on the causes of civil wars in the African context. Chapter one has outlined the entire dissertation project and contextualized the analysis that follows in the subsequent chapters. Chapter two has reviewed the literature on civil wars in general, identified the different types of civil wars, and the type the Ivoiran war is. Chapter three has examined the domestic and international political economy as a source of the civil violence in Côte d’Ivoire. Chapter iv four has examined the role of ethnicity and region as identities of the war, while chapter five has analyzed the role of the foreign relations in the civil war, as well as the regional political context. Chapter six has distinguished between the root and proximate causes of the Ivoirian civil war, made judgments about the relative weight of the various causes, and the extent to which the weight of the causes can be measured. The study found that the “Ivoirité” was the most important trigger of the civil war in Côte d’Ivoire. The overall conclusion of my dissertation was that the September 2002 crisis in that country was a political crisis which occured in the context of a political reform. It first started with succession problems in 1993 followed by the controversial elections in 1995 and 2000. Later, this electoral politics spread beyond electoral issues, namely citizenship matters. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION 1 The Long Period of Stability 5 Political Developments Immediately Proceeding 21 Overview of the Remaining Chapters 29 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 32 Identification of Different Types of Civil Wars 35 Rebels Seeking Secession and Control of Resources 35 State Dominance of Some Identity Group 39 Rebels Seeking Redistribution of Wealth and Income 43 Wars against Colonizers 43 Discussion of the Type the Ivoirian Civil War Is 44 Debate Over the Causes of Civil Wars 49 Causes Related to Identity Group Difference 49 States with a History of Inter-Identity Group Conflict 49 External Pressure for Democratization from the 1990s 51 Apperance of An Ethnic Group in Multi-Ethnic States 53 Causes Related to Social Deprivation, Class Conflict, Resource Scarcity 59 Maldistribution of Wealth or Income Resulting to Social Deprivation 59 Rebels As People Without Other Social Prospects 61 Sudden Redistribution of Wealth to the Upper Classes 63 Structural Adjustment Programs 64 Sudden Downturn in the Relative Value of State Commodities 68 Causes Related to Economic Gain for “Rebel-Entrepreneurs 70 Neo-Colonial Causes 72 III. DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY 75 Background On the Ivoirian Economy 75 Period of Economic Growth (1060-1980) 81 Period of Economic Downfall (1981-1990) 85 Structural Adjustment Programs 86 Effects of Structural Adjustment Programs 93 Coping With the Crisis and Effects of the Adjustments 98 Rebels’Attitude Toward the Local Resources 102 IV. ETHNICITY AND REGION AS IDENTITIES IN THE WAR 104 Unity Under Houphouet-Boigny (1960-1993) 105 Dis-unity in the Post-Houphouet-Boigny Era (1993-2002) 113 Composition of the Competing Military Forces 117 New Forces 117 National Forces of Côte d’Ivoire 125 vi V. ROLE OF FOREIGN RELATIONS IN THE WAR 135 Franco-African Relations: An Overview 136 Origins of Franco-Ivoirian Relations 141 Ivoirian Economic Crisis And French Aid 149 Ivoirian Political Crisis And French Aid 155 Côte d’Ivoire’s Relations with Its Neighbors 158 VI. CONCLUSION 164 Distinction between the Root and Proximate Causes of the War 170 Judgment About the Relative Weight of the Various Causes 172 Relative Weight of the Root Causes 172 Relative Weight of the Proximate Causes 177 Measuring the Relative Weight of the Various Causes 179 Ivoirian Civil War in Comparative Perspective 181 Congo-Brazzaville 182 Sierra Leone 183 Liberia 184 Non-Wars Under Political Reform 185 LIST OF REFERENCES 188 APPENDICES 213 VITA 216 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Major Ethnic Groups 9 2. Major Languages 9 3. Major Religions 11 4. Human Development Index of Côte d’Ivoire (2002) 97 5. Major Leaders and Political Parties 114 6. Bilateral Aid Disbursements by France 152 viii LIST OF ACRONYMS ADO Allassane Dramane Ouattara BCEAO Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest AERIA Aéroport International Abidjan AJP Alliance des Jeunes Patriotes APC All People’s Congress AU African Union BBC British Broadcast Corporation BICICI Banque Ivoirienne de Commerce et Industrie de Côte d’Ivoire BNP Banque Nationale de Paris CAISSTAB Caisse de Stabilisation CD Compact Disk CDEAO Communaté des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest CFA Communaté Financière Africaine CFAO Communauté Française de l’Afrique de l’Ouest CFCI Compagnie Française de la Côte d’Ivoire CIDT Compagnie Ivoirienne Des Textiles CIE Comapgnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité CIPREL Compagnie Ivoirienne de la Production d’Electricité CNN Cable News Network COLAS Société de Construction Routière DRC Democratic Republic of Congo DVD Digital Video Disc ix ECOMOG Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EPLF Eritrean People’s Liberation Front EPRDF Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front ETA Basques for Basques Homeland and Freedom EU European Union FANCI Force Armée Nationale de Côte d’Ivoire FESCI Fédération Estudiantine et Scolaire de Côte d’Ivoire FF French Franc FM Fraternité Matin FN Forces Nouvelles FPI Front Populaire Ivoirien GDP Gross Domestic
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