Ivory Coast - Land of Trouble - Essay Example

There was a ‘state of nature even before the formation of society. It was a state where there were no laws governing the behavior of humans and the activities were so much cruel that even if a person needs to take something from his neighbor, he would just kill him and take it in his possession.  One of the most famous journalists from America, Robert Kaplan has attributed such a term to the society of Cote da’Ivoire, also called in English has the Ivory Coast.  To make a statement of such magnitude, there must be some sense going behind it. And indeed, when one sees the current crisis in the Ivory Coast on both the social and political fronts, one is ought to come to the conclusion that Hobbes's description of ‘state of nature is still prevalent. (Volkov 2011)

The troubled lands of West Africa saw an unusual development in political and societal fronts through the land of the Ivory Coast. After its independence from the French in 1960, there was a line of hope within the minds of the people of this country to stand tall amongst other nations. But, it all came down when the first political crisis rose in Abidjan in 2002. Irrespective of the presence of the French troupes in the country, deployed primarily to seize any such rebellions against the government, the political scenario was split into two with the rebels occupying the entire northern half of the country. When the United Nations came into the picture, a deal was struck wherein the rebels, the Ivorians and the ruling government would combine together to form united governance. But then, President Laurent Gbagbo went back on his words, disobeying the agreement and putting the entire country in crisis.  It was just the start of the decline of hope for the people of the country.

The current tensions between Gbagbo and the new president Alassane Ouattara have reached dizzying heights with violent activities sustained all throughout the country. The necessities that are required to sustain any hope of life are diminishing exponentially and the government is yet to come to terms with solving the crisis. The political crisis has resulted in more than 200 deaths in the country and just because of one man’s interest, the whole country is going through unexplainable grief.  The current situations are still unclear. (Volkov 2011) It cannot be ruled out that the religious troubles and societal problems also form some of the several facets of the crisis. There is continuous trouble between the Muslims and Christians and the main exports of the economy, such as coffee, wood, etc. have gone on to plummet in their productions.

The laws have been broken with the threat of civil war looming large on the face of the nation.