I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). I am also an affiliated faculty member in the Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Arctic & Northern Studies (ACNS) programs at UAF. I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Concordia University in 2016. My research agenda is comprised of two interrelated streams focusing on (a) political authority and the production of political order in civil war and (b) the durability or institutionalization of wartime rebel governance systems after the cessation of violent conflict. My geographic area of specialization is West Africa, particularly Côte d’Ivoire, where I have conducted extensive field research in 2010-2011, 2017 and 2018. My research is forthcoming or has appeared in peer-reviewed publications such as Comparative Politics, African Affairs, Afrique Contemporaine, the Canadian Journal of African Studies and Civil Wars. At UAF, I teach a variety of undergraduate and graduate classes, including: Democracy & Global Society, Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Comparative Environmental Politics and the Global Political Economy of the Environment.
How does exposure to rebel rule affect citizens' political attitudes after armed conflicts end? W... more How does exposure to rebel rule affect citizens' political attitudes after armed conflicts end? We combine original survey data from Côte d'Ivoire with a natural experiment based on the arbitrary location of a ceasefire boundary to estimate the effects of exposure to rebel rule by the Forces Nouvelles (FN) on Ivorians' sense of democratic citizenship. Our findings show that individuals in communities ruled by the FN held more negative attitudes about local government institutions 7 years after the reunification of the country, held weaker commitments to civic obligations, and were more likely to condone extralegal actions. The effects of rebel rule are larger than the effects of extreme lived poverty and appear among both rebel coethnics and non-coethnics. Using qualitative and survey evidence, we propose three theoretical mechanisms to explain why exposure to rebel rule weakened citizen-state relations: disrupted norms of compliance with state-like authorities,
How do former armed militants exercise local political power after civil wars end? Building on re... more How do former armed militants exercise local political power after civil wars end? Building on recent advances in the study of "rebel rulers" and local goods provision by armed groups, this article offers a typology of ex-rebel commander authority that emphasizes two dimensions of former militants' power: local-level ties to civilian populations ruled during civil war, and national-level ties to post-conflict state elites. Put together, these dimensions produce four trajectories of ex-rebel authority. These trajectories shape whether and how ex-rebel commanders provide social goods within post-conflict communities and the durability of ex-rebels' local authority over time. We illustrate this typology with qualitative evidence from northern Côte d'Ivoire. The framework yields theoretical insights about local orders after civil war, as well as implications for peacebuilding policies. Word Count 11,489 including endnotes and acknowledgements
La fragilité de la paix dans la Côte d’Ivoire d’après la crise postélectorale est manifeste dans ... more La fragilité de la paix dans la Côte d’Ivoire d’après la crise postélectorale est manifeste dans le nord-est du pays, dans la ville de Bouna et ses campagnes alentours. Depuis 2011, les tensions se sont accrues entre éleveurs peul, agriculteurs lobi et « autochtones » koulango. Fin mars 2016, les luttes pour l’utilisation des terres ont trouvé leur apogée dans un affrontement violent entre membres des communautés lobi et peul à Bouna, qui s’est soldé par plus de vingt morts, trente blessés et mille personnes déplacées. Comment expliquer la précarité de la paix post-conflit à Bouna ? Cet article historicise les causes structurelles de cette violence en analysant les évolutions des relations de pouvoir régissant l’utilisation des terres dans la longue durée.
Following the armed conflict opposing the insurgents of the New Forces (FN) to former president L... more Following the armed conflict opposing the insurgents of the New Forces (FN) to former president Laurent Gbagbo, Côte d’Ivoire has been from 2002 to 2011 a territorially divided country. What are the long-term consequences of a rebel occupation that lasted almost ten years? In our research, which has covered 95 sous-préfectures and neighbourhoods located in the formerly rebel-controlled area, we explore territorial variations in the patterns of rebel governance between 2002 and 2011 and we address the impact of these variations on the post-war influence of the FN at the local level. There are substantial differences between the localities surveyed in the quality of war time governance, as well as in the persistence of FN influence, which are not explained by pre-existing factors such as the political sympathies of the population. In some cases, paradoxically, the contestation of rebel authority seems to have led to governance improvements. Former FN leaders who contributed to these improvements enjoy a certain degree of legitimacy among the local elites and the population. The relationships between political parties and FN also contribute to explain variations among different localities. In conclusion, rebel authority can reproduce itself in different manners in a post-conflict context, with a likely different impact on peace and post-war democratization.
Across diverse liberal war-to-peace transitions, the integration of former armed movements into t... more Across diverse liberal war-to-peace transitions, the integration of former armed movements into the post-accord political system has been identified as a significant factor in determining the success of peace processes. There is now a growing literature focusing on rebel-to-party transformations in the aftermath of armed conflict. Despite on-going debates over the long-term implications of rebel-to-party conversions for existing party systems, actual studies focusing on diverse patterns of rebel-party configurations in post-accord transitions remain rare. This article takes a first step to fill this gap by comparing pathways in rebel-party relations in Côte d’Ivoire and Burundi. While the FN in Côte d’Ivoire joined the RDR, an established political party, with FN members running as candidates for the RDR in post-accord elections, the CNDD-FDD in Burundi formed its own party becoming the country’s current ruling party. We develop a theoretical framework analyzing these divergent pathways by exploring how ties between armed movements and pre-conflict political parties shape trajectories of rebel groups during and beyond civil war.
International Peace Institute Global Observatory, 2017
On June 30, 2017, the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) reached the end of its ma... more On June 30, 2017, the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) reached the end of its mandate after fourteen years in the country as a multi-dimensional peacekeeping force. International actors and Ivorian national leaders have proclaimed that Côte d’Ivoire—where a violent ethno-regional conflict divided the country into two separate zones between 2002 and 2011—is now stable enough to provide for its own security, and that the return to peace is “irreversible.”...
How does exposure to rebel rule affect citizens' political attitudes after armed conflicts end? W... more How does exposure to rebel rule affect citizens' political attitudes after armed conflicts end? We combine original survey data from Côte d'Ivoire with a natural experiment based on the arbitrary location of a ceasefire boundary to estimate the effects of exposure to rebel rule by the Forces Nouvelles (FN) on Ivorians' sense of democratic citizenship. Our findings show that individuals in communities ruled by the FN held more negative attitudes about local government institutions 7 years after the reunification of the country, held weaker commitments to civic obligations, and were more likely to condone extralegal actions. The effects of rebel rule are larger than the effects of extreme lived poverty and appear among both rebel coethnics and non-coethnics. Using qualitative and survey evidence, we propose three theoretical mechanisms to explain why exposure to rebel rule weakened citizen-state relations: disrupted norms of compliance with state-like authorities,
How do former armed militants exercise local political power after civil wars end? Building on re... more How do former armed militants exercise local political power after civil wars end? Building on recent advances in the study of "rebel rulers" and local goods provision by armed groups, this article offers a typology of ex-rebel commander authority that emphasizes two dimensions of former militants' power: local-level ties to civilian populations ruled during civil war, and national-level ties to post-conflict state elites. Put together, these dimensions produce four trajectories of ex-rebel authority. These trajectories shape whether and how ex-rebel commanders provide social goods within post-conflict communities and the durability of ex-rebels' local authority over time. We illustrate this typology with qualitative evidence from northern Côte d'Ivoire. The framework yields theoretical insights about local orders after civil war, as well as implications for peacebuilding policies. Word Count 11,489 including endnotes and acknowledgements
La fragilité de la paix dans la Côte d’Ivoire d’après la crise postélectorale est manifeste dans ... more La fragilité de la paix dans la Côte d’Ivoire d’après la crise postélectorale est manifeste dans le nord-est du pays, dans la ville de Bouna et ses campagnes alentours. Depuis 2011, les tensions se sont accrues entre éleveurs peul, agriculteurs lobi et « autochtones » koulango. Fin mars 2016, les luttes pour l’utilisation des terres ont trouvé leur apogée dans un affrontement violent entre membres des communautés lobi et peul à Bouna, qui s’est soldé par plus de vingt morts, trente blessés et mille personnes déplacées. Comment expliquer la précarité de la paix post-conflit à Bouna ? Cet article historicise les causes structurelles de cette violence en analysant les évolutions des relations de pouvoir régissant l’utilisation des terres dans la longue durée.
Following the armed conflict opposing the insurgents of the New Forces (FN) to former president L... more Following the armed conflict opposing the insurgents of the New Forces (FN) to former president Laurent Gbagbo, Côte d’Ivoire has been from 2002 to 2011 a territorially divided country. What are the long-term consequences of a rebel occupation that lasted almost ten years? In our research, which has covered 95 sous-préfectures and neighbourhoods located in the formerly rebel-controlled area, we explore territorial variations in the patterns of rebel governance between 2002 and 2011 and we address the impact of these variations on the post-war influence of the FN at the local level. There are substantial differences between the localities surveyed in the quality of war time governance, as well as in the persistence of FN influence, which are not explained by pre-existing factors such as the political sympathies of the population. In some cases, paradoxically, the contestation of rebel authority seems to have led to governance improvements. Former FN leaders who contributed to these improvements enjoy a certain degree of legitimacy among the local elites and the population. The relationships between political parties and FN also contribute to explain variations among different localities. In conclusion, rebel authority can reproduce itself in different manners in a post-conflict context, with a likely different impact on peace and post-war democratization.
Across diverse liberal war-to-peace transitions, the integration of former armed movements into t... more Across diverse liberal war-to-peace transitions, the integration of former armed movements into the post-accord political system has been identified as a significant factor in determining the success of peace processes. There is now a growing literature focusing on rebel-to-party transformations in the aftermath of armed conflict. Despite on-going debates over the long-term implications of rebel-to-party conversions for existing party systems, actual studies focusing on diverse patterns of rebel-party configurations in post-accord transitions remain rare. This article takes a first step to fill this gap by comparing pathways in rebel-party relations in Côte d’Ivoire and Burundi. While the FN in Côte d’Ivoire joined the RDR, an established political party, with FN members running as candidates for the RDR in post-accord elections, the CNDD-FDD in Burundi formed its own party becoming the country’s current ruling party. We develop a theoretical framework analyzing these divergent pathways by exploring how ties between armed movements and pre-conflict political parties shape trajectories of rebel groups during and beyond civil war.
International Peace Institute Global Observatory, 2017
On June 30, 2017, the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) reached the end of its ma... more On June 30, 2017, the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) reached the end of its mandate after fourteen years in the country as a multi-dimensional peacekeeping force. International actors and Ivorian national leaders have proclaimed that Côte d’Ivoire—where a violent ethno-regional conflict divided the country into two separate zones between 2002 and 2011—is now stable enough to provide for its own security, and that the return to peace is “irreversible.”...
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