The Use of Law during democratization processes in French-speaking Africa : comparative study of Bénin, Burkina-Faso and Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

This PhD thesis aim to study the phenomena of democratization in French-speaking African countries. It is a comparative study of the legal and political situations of three countries located in the same geographical area, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. We approach the transition and democratic consolidation, confronting them with another phenomenon, described here as the "instrumentalization of law". This expression refers to all the uses of legal tools by the political sphere, and above all, by those in power, in order to consolidate or maintain their position at the top of the State. In the context of democratization, law and politics are inseparable. The law, seen as all the legal and jurisdictional elements of a given country, but more broadly as all the rules in force, is supposed to be the privileged framework for democratic political activity. The law sets the rules of the political game, that determines who participates in the vote, how the vote is conducted and who is nominated. The systemic method adopted allows to evaluate the use of law for the purpose of establishing democracy or maintaining authoritarianism.