Risques et opportunités : assurer son avenir dans la violente crise ivoirienne et au-delà

Abstract

This article examines how people who do not live in so-called risk societies deal with risks and insecurities prevalent in their daily lives. Along the life trajectories of two men in Côte d’Ivoire’s violent crisis, the article analyses the subjects’ various ways of securing their futures in a war context with a focus on physical and economic insecurities. Both men happened to have worked in a car repair shop on the eve of the war : one of them joined the rebellion and went into combat ; the other managed to get by with multiple strategies, such as small businesses, associational life and by linking up with powerful actors. Even if risk avoidance strategies are employed, risk avoidance does not seem to be the predominant preoccupation in the case-studies examined. The findings rather suggest that risks are consciously taken to seek opportunities in the first place. Hence, a conceptual lens that focuses exclusively on risks seems insufficient to explain the actors’ deliberations and paths taken. Therefore, I propose to adopt a complementary perspective that includes opportunity seeking rather than solely risk avoidance.