The Economics of Ethnic Conflict: The Case of Burkina Faso

This richly detailed anthropological account of the policies and practices of Burkina Faso, set against the background of the region’s developing economies and ethnic diversity, examines the social, economic and political transformation of Western Africa. Behind the screen of ethnic conflicts, lie vibrant ‘concealed economies’ that have led to new economic and political practices at almost all levels of national and civil administration. In these ‘concealed economies’ individuals exploit the ethnic divide by hiding friendly and profitable inter-ethnic relations behind a rhetoric of ethnic tensions and staged conflict.