Manuela Chyang
POLI 487
Paper Proposal:
The topic I would talk about is the 2010 presidential Elections in Ivory Coast,there is an ongoing argument regarding the results of these elections. The former President Laurent Gbagbo was outsed with the help of the UN security Council who claimed that the current President Alassane Ouattara won the elections as well as France, and the U.S. Even though, the Constitutional Council of Ivory Coast declared that the outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo has won the majority of votes. Contrary to the statement of the President of the Independent Electoral Comission (ICE) who claimed Allassane Ouattara as President. According to the Constitution of Ivory only the Constitutional Council has the right to proclaim final results of the Elections. Was the sovereignty of Ivory Coast violated?
By looking at the actions of the UN Security Coucil , with the consent of other parties such as the U.S and France, as well as the Constitution of Ivory Coast, I want to show that the sovereignty of Ivory Coast was violated.
Sources
Nicolas, Cook. "Cote D'ivoire Post- Elections Crisis". Congressional Research Service. Jan 28, 2011, p 1-51.
Adam, Nossiter. "2 Oaths of Office taken in Ivory Coast". New York Times. Dec 4, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/world/africa/05ivory.html
Tom, Ogwang. "The root causes of the conflict in Ivory Coast". Africa Port. Apr, 2011, p 1-8.
Thierno, Mouctar Bah. " Adressing Cote d' Ivoire Deeper Crisis". Africa Security Brief. Mar 2012, No 19, p 1-8.
Luke, Glanville. " The Responsability to Protect Beyond Borders". Human Rights Law Review. Jan 21, 2012. P 1-32.
I think you topic is very interesting. Writing is a little hard to follow, regarding who acted in support of or against the new president. Be sure in your paper you clearly, but concisely, describe the situation and actors. I also think it is important to explain why you consider it a violation of sovereignty. By joining the UN doesn't the Ivory Coast relinquish some of its sovereignty? Also is the IEC commissioned by the Ivory Coast than isn't the Ivory Coast asking them for their assessment, what reason or evidence does the Ivory Coast have against the new president? Make sure you have a clear and substantiated argument. Also possibly consider adding public sentiment regarding the election, does a majority of the public accept the election results?
ReplyDeleteManuela, I think you picked a great topic. I think you made clear how the election is related to sovereignty but why exactly do you feel that it is a violation of sovereignty? Make sure you can give your reason for why it is a violation and also have good examples to back up your reason. Overall, very good proposal.
ReplyDeleteHi Manuela. Your topic is definitely worth exploring especially because it was under reported in the American media despite how we intervened through the UN Security Council etc. I would suggest that you discuss how the internal sovereignty (the IEC) and external sovereignty (from the UN observers and other nations) conflicted. Another suggestion is to not confuse sovereignty with the legitimacy of the regime and the sovereignty of the nation. I hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading about that election for class, but as Ravinder pointed out, here in the U.S. it was very under reported. It is interesting to see the other sides' perspective toward the 2010 elections in Côte d'Ivoire. However, try not to fall for expressing one side of the argument, that is to say try and present both sides of the argument and then state which holds more credibility based on evidence.
ReplyDelete