ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to synthesise the relevant criminological and development studies literature to come to a broad working definition of civil society. The value of Gramsci's articulation of civil society lies in its ability to assist in understanding and assessing the potential of human rights-orientated grassroots organisations in defending people against criminal actions of the state and international corporations. Together Action pour la Protection des Droits de l'Homme (APDH), Ligue Ivoirienne des Droits de l'Homme (LIDHO), Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains (MIDH) and Club UA represent the vanguard of Ivorian civil society concerned with human rights. These organisations would be expected to be an important measure of the capacity of civil society in Ivory Coast to resist state and state-corporate crime. Human rights law in Ivory Coast is enshrined in both international and domestic law instruments by international treaty and domestic constitutional arrangements.
