Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires"

Regaining trust and civil security in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire

Within the general theme of weak and/or failing states and violent conflicts in Africa, trust and civil security have emerged as major topics of research in the last few years. Both are a central issue after periods of violent crisis. It is often presumed that trust fades during times of conflict. Violent crises in particular seem to reduce the level of societal trust to a degree that prevents the reconfiguration of society after conflict as well as the re-establishment of peace. Especially long-term conflicts in Africa have led to situations where the lack of trust is often perceived as all-embracing and heavily affecting the future of society. A prominent recent example is Côte d’Ivoire, where local as well as international social actors distrusting each other block the way to a peaceful future of the once prospering country. It is important to strengthen research and exchange in such situation to foster a more peaceful future.

The joint research project is heading for an empirically informed contribution to the theory of trust, in particular with regard to post-conflict societies, in adopting a comparative approach based on field studies in three different regions in Côte d’Ivoire (North, West, “Zone of Confidence”). The exchange project is of immediate relevance to the peace building process in Côte d’Ivoire. It fosters exchange between Swiss and Ivorian scholars to proliferate knowledge about conflict transformations processes in West Africa and in other parts of the world. The project thus contributes to the building of competences in West Africa and to the enhancement of research on such processes in Switzerland. It has two goals:

• First, it aims at a proliferation of general knowledge on conflict transformation into one of the virulent regional conflicts on the continent.
• Second, it is a step towards a more regular exchange between Ivoirian and Swiss scholarly institutions on such issues.

The outcomes will be integrated into the research agendas of both Ivoirian and Swiss research institutions, in particular the Centre for African Studies of the University of Basel and the Institute of Sociology of the University of Bouaké.

Partner Institutions:

Dr. Kerstin Bauer and Prof. Till Förster
Institute of Social Anthropology
University of Basel
Münsterplatz 19
CH-4051 Basel
E-Mail: kerstin.bauer@unibas.ch

Dr. Alfred Babo
Département d’Anthropologie et de Sociologie
Université de Bouaké
06 BP 2545 Abidjan 06
Côte d’Ivoire
E-Mail: babo_alfred@yahoo.fr