What’s next for Côte d’Ivoire?

Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to acknowledge his loss to Alassane Ouattara in Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential elections last November resulted in nearly five months of postelection violence that left 1,500 people dead, more than one million displaced, and an economic crisis generated by the international financial and cocoa export sanctions placed on Gbagbo’s government. With the arrest of Gbagbo on April 11, the Ouattara administration is turning its focus to rebuilding and reconciling the country. To this end, President Ouattara has appealed to the European Union to ease sanctions and proposed the creation of a truth and reconciliation mission.

Nevertheless, the current conditions make governing a country that was already politically, ethnically, and culturally, deeply divided even more difficult. How can Côte d’Ivoire overcome the governing, humanitarian, and social challenges it now faces? More broadly, what does the postelection violence in Côte d’Ivoire tell us about the state of political and democratic development in Africa?

Speakers

I. William Zartman, Panelist
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
Gina Lambright, Panelist
George Washington University
Jonathan Elliot, Panelist
Human Rights Watch
Dorina Bekoe, Moderator
U.S. Institute of Peace