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 politicomilitary
crisis, little attention has been paid
to the ubiquitous role of the law in the discourse and political strategy of the proGbagbo
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 analyzes 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.
