African Affairs Advance Access originally published online on September 6, 2006
African Affairs 2006 105(421):535-552; doi:10.1093/afraf/adl035
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Côte dIvoire: Patriotism, ethnonationalism and other African modes of self-writing
Richard Banégas (richard.banegas{at}univ-paris1.fr) is a lecturer at the University of Paris 1.
One of the key elements in the political-military struggle that has wracked Côte dIvoire since 2002 has been the young patriots youthful supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo who claim to be struggling for the countrys second independence from the former colonial power, France. Many of them conceive of their struggle not just as a political one but as a search for social affirmation. This article examines the politics of Ivorian patriotic youth in the light of Achille Mbembes influential ideas on African modes of self-representation.