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Ultranationalism, democracy and the law: insights from Côte d'Ivoire*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2014

Giulia Piccolino
Giulia Piccolino*
Affiliation:
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria, Lynwood Road, 0002, Pretoria, South Africa
*
Email: giulia.piccolino@ac.up.za; giulia.piccolino@yahoo.it
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Abstract

Although much has been written about the ideology of Laurent Gbagbo's Front Populaire Ivoirien in Côte d'Ivoire and its impact on the Ivorian politico-military crisis, little attention has been paid to the ubiquitous role of the law in the discourse and political strategy of the pro-Gbagbo elite. The Ivorian case may provide important insights about the connection between ultranationalist ideology and a legalist, formalist conception of democracy and national sovereignty. The article analyses the circumstances of the emergence of ‘legalist nationalism’ in Côte d'Ivoire by looking at key episodes of the Ivorian transition between 2002 and 2012. The article discusses the relevance of Pierre Englebert's concept of ‘legal command’ and the turbulences of democratic transitions in accounting for the prominence of legalism in Ivorian politics. It explores the implications of the Ivorian case for understanding the connection between law and politics in Africa.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 45 - 68
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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Footnotes

*

I would like to thank Pierre Englebert, the editors and the anonymous referees of the Journal of Modern African Studies for their useful comments.

References

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