Les conséquences d’une gouvernance rebelle: enquête au nord de la Côte d’Ivoire

Following the armed conflict opposing the insurgents of the New Forces (FN) to former president Laurent Gbagbo, Côte d’Ivoire has been from 2002 to 2011 a territorially divided country. What are the long-term consequences of a rebel occupation that lasted almost ten years? In our research, which has covered 95 sous-préfectures and neighbourhoods located in the formerly rebel-controlled area, we explore territorial variations in the patterns of rebel governance between 2002 and 2011 and we address the impact of these variations on the post-war influence of the FN at the local level. There are substantial differences between the localities surveyed in the quality of war time governance, as well as in the persistence of FN influence, which are not explained by pre-existing factors such as the political sympathies of the population. In some cases, paradoxically, the contestation of rebel authority seems to have led to governance improvements. Former FN leaders who contributed to these improvements enjoy a certain degree of legitimacy among the local elites and the population. The relationships between political parties and FN also contribute to explain variations among different localities. In conclusion, rebel authority can reproduce itself in different manners in a post-conflict context, with a likely different impact on peace and post-war democratization.