« Each village is a state »?

Bureaucratization in rural area in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

This article describes the democratization processes in rural Africa through bureaucratization practices in a Bété village, in Côte d'Ivoire. These practices were accentuated with the integration of this village into the commune of Gagnoa. By drawing on the ethnographic study of the elections for the youth president, it sheds light on the hybrid processes that contribute to the legitimization of new political actors in the field of village politics. Particular attention is paid to the youth category, which has established itself for three decades as central to the local political game.