A “Warrior” Generation? Political Violence and Subjectivation of Young Militamen in Ivory Coast

Abstract

Since the outbreak of war in 2002, militia organizations have f lour- ished in the southern regions of the country. This chapter analyzes the role of these militia since the official end of the war and exam- ines their social and political inf luence. Studies of urban militia in the west of the country and in Abidjan show that since the offi- cial end of the conf lict young recruits have gained considerable power on the local and national levels, thus disrupting intergenera- tional relations—though the chapter insists that the phenomenon is variable and contingent on groups and regions. Although some former fighters have become exemplary figures of social success, others feel the process of peace has left them behind. The chapter discusses the brutalization of Ivory Coast society and the subjecti- vation of youth by violence. It foresees the possible spread of a “war ethos,” on the hypothesis that it is most likely linked to an (im-) moral ghetto economy dominated by the ambiguous figure of the urban “warrior.”