Domains of Dominance: Political Territorial Control and Conflict-Related Violence in Postwar Abidjan

Abstract

Why do some city districts experience more severe postwar violence than others? Existing research on both postwar and electoral violence indicates a relationship between “strongholds” and political violence, but often overlooks the violence’s spatial character. We adopt a spatial perspective and view postwar violence in cities as part of a contest for political territorial control. Our argument is that postwar violence will be more severe in districts where the opposition exercises higher degrees of territorial control, which pushes the incumbent to use violence to dismantle opposition control, and the opposition to violently defend their turf. We put our theory to an initial test by comparing three districts in postwar Abidjan, drawing on a combination of georeferenced event data, field research, and secondary sources. The study highlights the close connection between space and postwar violence, and underscores the need for more spatial conceptualizations of strongholds in studies of political violence.