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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Elites, Ethnicity and 'Home Town' Associations in the Côte d'Ivoire: An Historical Analysis of State-Society Links
Author:Woods, DwayneISNI
Year:1994
Periodical:Africa: Journal of the International African Institute
Volume:64
Issue:4
Pages:465-483
Language:English
Geographic term:Ivory Coast - Côte d'Ivoire
Subjects:self-help associations
rural-urban relations
political elite
Ethnic and Race Relations
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/1161369
Abstract:The democratization process which began in the early 1990s in many sub-Saharan African countries has led to renewed interest in the role of voluntary associations in the shaping of the political and social realms. This article provides a historical understanding of the interaction between the postcolonial regime in the Côte d'Ivoire and local development associations, or hometown associations. The main argument developed differs from G. Hyden's claim that postcolonial African regimes have not grounded their mode of governance in African society. By examining the external and internal factors which have shaped associational life in the Côte d'Ivoire, the article shows that certain rules of reciprocity and centre-periphery linkages did emerge under the Houphouët-Boigny regime. The spread of hometown associations created a network of interactions that allowed the national elite to maintain some influence over ethnic demands without, however, mobilizing an ethnic constituency to compete for public goods. Two hometown associations are examined in more detail: the association for the development of Aboisso and the association for the development of Bonoua. Bibliogr., notes, sum. in English and in French.
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