Ivory Coast Political Unrest
The West African nation of the Ivory Coast was once a place for prosperity for the region. A crisis was set off in November 2010, when the ex-president, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to accept his defeat in a democratic presidential election he had postponed for years. Despite declarations and sanctions released by regional leaders along with the Untied Nations, Gbagbo clung to power and refused to recognize Alassane Quattara as the winner. A violent stalemate followed, as Mr. Gbagbo used security forces to terrorize citizens in the former capital of Abidjan. The United Nations became involved, and made a surprising successful intervention leading to the capture of Mr. Gabagbo and an end to another potential bloody civil war. The Ivory Coast can have a successful democracy but they first must better unify their decaying states and integrate themselves in the international economy. With the failure of the United Nations to control the Rwanda genocide, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization provided sufficient military support for the Untied Nations to remove Laurent Gbagbo from power. When imperialism was at its peak in the 19th century throughout Europe the Ivory Coast was one of many African nations imperialized. Although the early history of the Ivory Coast isn’t well known, it has been speculated that a Neolithic culture existed before the arrival and control of French colonial rule. Many early contacts of European crusaders were constricted due to the barren coastlines, fear of the inhabitants, and fear of diseases such as malaria and other parasitic diseases. Eventually towards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century the country of Ivory Coast was invaded placing its territories under a French colony (1). As French explorers, soldiers, and European trading companies expanded their influence throughout the Ivory Coast, the country gradually extended geographically. In 1893, the Ivory Coast officially became a French colony and Captin Binger,