Ethnicity and political crisis in Côte d'lvoire
The fundamental problems contributing to continuing conflict in Côte d'lvoire include the country's lack of an indigenous central culture and a failure to develop a shared national Ivorian identity.
Félix Houphouët et la Côte-d'Ivoire : l'envers d'une légende
Most of the existing literature on Cote d'Ivoire tends to present this country as a haven ot order and democracy, characterised by political stability, social tranquillity, ethnic and racial harmony, and economic prosperity. As for the President, Felix Houphouet-Boigny is usually portrayed as a man of dialogue, peace, and moderation, an elder statesman regarded by his peers as 'The Wiseman of Africa', often called upon to proffer advice or to mediate in interAfrican disputes. In their well-documented and convincingly argued studies, two Ivoirian authors, Marcel Amondji and Laurent Gbagbo, successfully debunk these well-established myths, and go beyond the official imagery to systematically uncover the historical, political, economic, and social realities of Cote d'Ivoire, as well as the true nature, character, and historical role of Houphouet-Boigny. First of all, both authors clearly demonstrate that, contrary to prevailing views, the Ivoirian masses have continuously and courageously resisted not only the initial French military conquest at the turn of the century, but also the subsequent colonial system set up in the territory between I9IO and I960. Indeed, Amondji convincingly argues that there is a remarkable continuity between the earlier manifestations of popular resistance to French penetration and later forms of anti-colonial, nationalist protest. Both he and Gbagbo offer a careful and revealing analysis of the social forces which contributed to the creation in April I946 of the first and foremost nationalist movement in the country, the Parti democratique de Cote adIvoire, section du Rassemblement democratique africain (P.D.C.I.-R.D.A.). This was born out of initiatives by the Ivoirian planters, regrouped within the Syndicat agricole africain created in August 1944, whose most prominent leader was Houphouet-Boigny. The success of the P.D.C.I.-R.D.A. was due to the fact that the relatively rich and prosperous land-owning class of indigenous coffee and cocoa growers built an alliance with the bureaucratic bourgeoisie, the landless peasantry, and the urban workers, which resulted in a broad anti-colonialist, democratic front. According to Gbagbo, leftist intellectuals initially played a major role within this nationalist movement although, as Amondji rightly observes, they could hardly be regarded as members of a social class per se. The very reasons which accounted for the success of the P.D.C.I.-R.D.A. as a nationalist movement i.e. its broad, but heterogeneous social basis ultimately led to its demise as a political party. Indeed, as Gbagbo correctly argues, during the period I946 to 1956 the P.D.C.I.-R.D.A. was much more REVIEWS 559
France and NATO from 1966 to Kosovo: Coming full circle?
This article traces the relationship between France and NATO from the 1960s to the 1990s. It focuses on the reasons for the France‐NATO rapprochement of the 1990s, but also underlines the very real tensions between France and the Alliance during these years. It analyses the question of French reintegration into the Integrated Military Structure (IMS) which seemed probable in the summer of 1997, and suggests that this issue in itself is a useful illustration of wider misunderstandings between France and NATO. The article also investigates the reaction of the French military to the closing of the door to possible French reintegration into the IMS in the aftermath of the NATO Madrid Summit of July 1997 and comments briefly on France's participaiton in the conflict in Kosovo.