CHAPITRE 071993–2011

The Crisis Years

From the 'Ivoirité' debate to reconciliation in 2011

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After Houphouët-Boigny died in 1993, the 'ivoirité' debate over who counted as a 'true Ivorian' intensified. Civil war broke out in 2002 and the country was split north and south for years; a post-election crisis followed in 2010–2011. Since 2011 the country has entered a period of reconstruction and high growth.

Overlapping questions of ethnicity, religion, land and migration, together with the distribution of cocoa wealth, made political divisions especially sharp.

CE QUE VOUS VERREZ · What you will see

People over 40 often refer to 'la crise'; some artworks are full of war imagery; at dinners, everyone quietly avoids certain political subjects.

POURQUOI · So what

This period shaped a generation's memory and inspired much art (Aboudia, for example). Hosting the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations was widely seen as a sign that the country was back on its feet.

SAVOIR-FAIRE · How to use it

Treat it as background for understanding, not a topic to raise. If someone brings it up, listen and do not take sides. In art circles, how works respond to the crisis is a safe and thoughtful way in.

Asian and European parallelsComparable to any society that has been through division and transitional justice: the memories are still fresh, and everyone has learned which things are better left unsaid.