Bloody Democracy in Ivory Coast: What Went Wrong?

The dilemma in world politics today is that the UN remains unable to produce a coherent blueprint to face legitimacy conflicts in the developing world. Lacking its own armed force, the UN offers only the same old global management. But global management by the UN alone has failed to translate the concept of collective security into a predictable policy backed by decisive and credible actions. The prime example of such a failure is Ivory Coast, where, at this moment, bullets are replacing ballot boxes to institute democracy.

Following its November 28 runoff election, the Ivory Coast had two presidents, two prime ministers, and two governments -- or it had until yesterday. The runoff was intended to end a decade of political and military crisis. Instead the country plunged into a deeper crisis when the Constitutional Council, which was led by an ally of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, declared him the winner, alleging that the ballot was fraudulent in parts of the north controlled by the rebels. The Council thereby overruled the Independent Electoral Commission's decision in favor of the challenger, Alassane Ouattara, a day before it was formalized. Despite the fact that Ouattara is recognized internationally as the duly elected president, Gbagbo refused to step down. The presence of French and UN peacekeeping troops did not dissuade him from usurping power.

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