ABSTRACT
Civil-military relations in his country have been shaped by personal and institutional controls that have made Cote-d'Ivoire very much an exception in tropical Africa—and indeed in much of the Third World. This chapter summarizes the 40+ years of Houphouet's leadership, giving particular attention to his attitudes toward the nature and pace of political change, Ivorian links with France, the role of potential domestic opposition, and the centrality of economic development. It considers in terms of the Parti Democratique de la Côte d'Ivoire— the Parti Democratique de la Cote-d'Ivoire—which emerged as the country's single political party prior to independence, and which continues to monopolize positions of power. For Cote-d'Ivoire, the institutions most under challenge by the African majority centered on discriminatory labor policies. The transformation of the Syndicat Agricole Africain into the Parti Democratique de la Cote-d'Ivoire became possible as a result of the "new look" in French colonial policy.
