ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with a description of the anthropological debate on ethnicity and its politicisation. It then elaborates in which ways the two long-term presidents Ahmed Sékou Touré and Lansana Conté have dealt with ethnicity. By closely analysing the presidential elections of 2010, it explains why ethnicity has been the number one topic at the time of research. The author argues that the imagination of an ethnicised past is used by all sides to reinforce their claims in a contested political and economic environment. In a case study about the Association of Female Leaders, the chapter describes how Big Women acted during the presidential elections and why they are regarded as specifically suited to appease conflicts. The chapter argues that the Association of Female Leaders could counter the predominant violent atmosphere by stressing their gender identity to overcome ethnic tensions. The final section examines the governmental efforts to overcome ethnic cleavages, for example by organising different reconciliation events. Here, it depicts how the two-faced discourse by the president further increases the mistrust between the ethnic groups. Overall, this chapter shows that in the contested time of the Guinean presidential elections, ethnicity and not other identities was put in the foreground to make political claims.
