Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2024-05-31T23:55:58.672Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Proleptic Justice: The Threat of Investigation as a Deterrent to Human Rights Abuses in Côte d'Ivoire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2010

Kamari Maxine Clarke
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
Mark Goodale
Affiliation:
George Mason University, Virginia
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION: JUSTICE, PATERNALISM, AND LEGITIMACY

In Côte d'Ivoire, between 2002 and 2006, diplomats and international jurists tried to use the threat of international prosecution in a politically instrumental manner. Attempts to lessen the abuse of civilians were at least partially successful. Although it is difficult to give a definitive explanation for such success, I argue in this essay that the main causes can be located in Ivorian conceptions of justice and their ability to influence political actors' behavior, rather than the external threats brought to bear on those same actors. This is not to say that external and internal logics have not influenced each other, engaging in a kind of lengthy conversation. The commitment of Ivorians on both sides of the civil conflict to see themselves and be seen as legitimate political actors has helped to condition the forms of violence that have emerged in the Ivorian conflict at the same time that they have added to the efficacy of the threat of international prosecution for war crimes/crimes against humanity. The fact that blame for war crimes or atrocities could serve as one means of stripping political actors of local legitimacy increased the leverage such threats enjoyed, which raises the question of whether levels of violence might have been self-regulating even without external intervention.

From 1960 to 1985, Côte d'Ivoire was West Africa's economic Eldorado, rivaled only by Nigeria after it began producing oil.

Type
Chapter
Information
Mirrors of Justice
Law and Power in the Post-Cold War Era
, pp. 67 - 86
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amin, Samir, 1967, Le Développement du Capitalisme en Côte d'Ivoire. Paris: Editions de MinuitGoogle Scholar
Zolberg, Aristide, 1964, One-party Government in the Ivory Coast. Princeton: Princeton University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Touré, et al., 1996, L'Ivoirité: Ou l'esprit du nouveau contrat social du Président Henri Konan Bedié. Abidjan: Presses Universitaires de Côte d'IvoireGoogle Scholar
Dozon, , 1985, La Société Bété. Karthala, ParisGoogle Scholar
Seck, C., “L'ONU en père fouettard” in Jeune Afrique, February 9, 2003Google Scholar
Dozon, J.P. 1997, “L'etranger et l'allochtone.” In Contamin, B., and Fote, H. Mémel (eds.). Le Modèle Ivoirien en Question: Crises, Ajustements, Recomposition. Paris: KarthalaGoogle Scholar
Idrissa, Maiga. “Levée des sanctions internationales – Fofié défend son cas devant l'ONU.” Le Patriote, September 6, 2007Google Scholar
Verschave, F., 2005, La Françafrique: Le plus long scandale de la République. Paris: StockGoogle Scholar
Soudan, F. et al. “La déchirure,” Jeune Afrique, November 14, 2004Google Scholar
Hugeux, V, Pelletier, E., and Rosso, R., “Les tueurs envolés de Bouaké,” L'Express, May 18, 2006Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×