Côte d’Ivoire has experienced recurring political instability since the death of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny in 1993. The political battles that followed exposed longstanding tensions over citizenship and Ivoirité, deepening regional, ethnic, and political divisions. These tensions resulted in a 1999 military coup, election-related violence in 2000, a 2002 rebellion that divided the country, and the disputed 2010 presidential election, which triggered a violent post-election conflict that claimed more than 3,000 lives (Akindès, 2004; Cheeseman, 2015; Wells & Dufka, 2011).
Political participation provides an important lens through which to understand democratic consolidation in post-conflict societies. It includes institutionalised forms of engagement, such as contacting elected representatives, as well as non-institutionalised activities such as protest (Theocharis & van Deth, 2017; van Deth, 2021). In fragile political environments, participation is often shaped by institutional trust, citizens’ experiences of economic hardship, cognitive engagement such as access to information and political discussion among friends and family, and perceptions of government responsiveness (Bratton & van de Walle, 1997; Guseva, 2024; Verba, Schlozman, & Brady, 1995). In many African contexts, citizens may contact political leaders not only to seek assistance, but also to demand recognition and inclusion in political decision making. Protest, meanwhile, can provide a channel through which citizens express grievances and demand accountability (Klaus, Paller, & Wilfahrt, 2023; Muller & Seligson, 1987; Harris & Hern, 2019).
Much of the political-science literature on Côte d’Ivoire has focused on citizenship, armed conflict, electoral violence, civil-military relations, and ethnic politics (Akindès, 2004; Schiel, Faulkner, & Powell, 2017). While these studies have deepened understanding of the country’s political trajectory, less attention has been paid to how ordinary citizens engage with governance institutions in the post-conflict period. This paper addresses that gap by examining factors associated with two forms of political participation: contacting elected representatives and participating in demonstrations or protest marches.
The term “post-conflict” in this paper refers to the period following the end of armed conflict in April 2011 without suggesting that political violence or its underlying causes have disappeared. The contested 2020 presidential election, which returned President Alassane Ouattara to office for a controversial third term, was accompanied by political violence, restrictions on demonstrations, and the arrest of opposition figures (Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, 2022).
Using Afrobarometer Round 9 survey data collected in Côte d’Ivoire in 2021, the paper employs binary logistic regression models to examine factors associated with contacting a member of the National Assembly, contacting a local elected official, and participating in protest.
The findings show that political discussion is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of political participation, consistent with previous studies highlighting the importance of political engagement and information in encouraging citizen participation (Verba, Schlozman, & Brady, 1995; Scheufele, Nisbet, & Brossard, 2003; Bimber & Gil de Zúñiga, 2022). Ivoirians who think National Assembly members listen to citizens are more likely to contact these representatives, while trust in municipal or regional councils is positively associated with contacting these local elected officials.
Consistent with Afrobarometer (2025) findings across Africa (Isaksson, 2010), higher levels of lived poverty are associated with both institutionalised and contentious forms of participation, suggesting that economic hardship encourages citizens to seek assistance from political leaders while also expressing grievances through protest. Rural residents are more politically active than urban residents, whereas women are less likely than men to contact elected representatives and older respondents are less likely to participate in protests. As with all observational analyses, these findings identify statistical associations rather than causal relationships.