Militarized youths in western Côte d’Ivoire: local processes of mobilization, demobilization, and related humanitarian interventions (2002-2007)

The recent conflict in Côte d’Ivoire has led to the militarization of many young civilians on both belligerent sides, especially in the west of the country. What is of particular interest is that many of these youths have assumed a function of ‘commuting’ conscripts, alternating periods of semi-military work, where they had to report to some kind of warlike hierarchy, with periods at home where they were back to a quasi daily routine. This became particularly characteristic as the Ivoirian war evolved into a situation of ‘no peace, no war’ with sporadic violence still occurring, but only at certain periods and within specific settings. This book is an in-depth examination of the different processes that led to their militarization and demilitarization, in a context where borders between the military, civilian, and humanitarian arenas have never been strict, and have varied according to conflict phases, individuals’ social networks and extent of locality of the recruitment.