Ethnicity and civil war in Cote d'Ivoire

The roots of the civil war in Cote d'Ivoire since 2002 are complex and can be traced back to the colonial period. The conflict runs along a constructed line between 'northerners' and 'southerners', or between Muslims and Christians, respectively. The ethnonym Dioula' is used synonymously for 'Muslim' and 'northerner'. Moreover, many Dioula' are suspected of not being 'true' Ivorians but migrants from. the neighbouring countries Mali, Burkina Faso, or Guinea. The background for these allegitions; is the nationalist ideology of 'ivoirite (ivorian-ness) that was created in 1995. On the basis of this ideology, specific populations are excluded from political participation and landownership. These politics of exclusion do not only affect recent immigrants but also groups who have resided in present-day northern Cote d'Ivoire for centuries.