The politics of organising the countryside

Rural cooperatives in Côte d'Ivoire

Bibliographic Data

ID4949271
AuthorsDwayne Woods (0000-0002-7033-794X, Purdue University West Lafayette, corresponding author)
Year1999
Volume37
Issue3
Pages489-506
Publication date1999-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Modern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-278X • E-ISSN: 1469-7777
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0022278x99003122
OpenAlexW2154751420
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited9

This article first explores the manner in which the colonial and postcolonial state in Côte d'Ivoire has sought to develop and animate rural cooperatives as a means of effecting change in the countryside. It then examines the local realities that the state has encountered in its attempt to organise and control rural cooperatives. In particular, the article shows how ethnicity, age, and contrasting economic interests have undermined state efforts to create sustainable and effective rural cooperatives at the village level. Finally, the article looks at how structural adjustment has led to the retreat of the state and the emergence of a more pluralistic environment in which different rural associations are now competing to represent the interests of rural producers

Colonialism · Cote d ivoire · Economic growth · Economics · Ethnic group · Humanities · Political science · Politics · Rural area · State (computer science · African Studies and Ethnography · Agriculture and Rural Development Research · Social Sciences and Governance