the troubles of Ivory Coast

Inspired by Jonathan Edelstein's recent series of posts about the civil war in Ivory Coast (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), I spent the evening learning more about the background of this conflict. An excellent overview is Ivory Coast on the Brink. One of the significant issues in Ivory Coast is the policy of ivoirite (pure Ivorian nationality). Read Hate Politics in Ivory Coast and Ethnic Clenching: Misrule in Ivory Coast. Like many countries in West Africa, Ivory Coast has a population split between Muslims and Christians and the ivoirite policy emphasizes this difference since most of those disadvantaged by it are Muslims from the north. It is surely not a coincidence that most of those supporting the rebellion against the government are Muslims from the north. Despite this, the various rebel groups are secular and there is no political Islamic movement as in Nigeria. I don't know how long this will continue.