PEMICI · Political Elites and Music Industry in Côte d'Ivoire

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Project objective

PEMICI (Political Elites and Music Industry in Côte d’Ivoire) investigates how cultural industries contribute to the reproduction of political elites in contemporary Africa. Focusing on Abidjan’s music scene, this project analyzes the economic and symbolic transactions linking artists and political actors. It explores three key practices —spot, atalaku, and travaillement— through which power and prestige are publicly staged, exchanged, and negotiated. These performative acts combine monetary payments, public recognition, and masculine distinction, turning patronage into a celebrated spectacle. By tracing how these practices normalize political-cultural entanglements, PEMICI offers a new perspective on elite formation beyond formal institutions.Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, an original database of cited names in music, and media archives from the 1970s to the present, the project will document how musical spaces serve as arenas for co-producing political legitimacy. It combines qualitative and quantitative tools, including photography, discourse analysis, and social network mapping, while paying attention to gender hierarchies that structure these scenes. PEMICI contributes to elite studies, African political anthropology, and cultural economy scholarship. It also informs cultural policy, helping international donors and local actors better understand the logic of the creative industries in West Africa.Hosted at the University of Neuchâtel under the supervision of Prof. Alice Aterianus-Owanga, the project will benefit from interdisciplinary collaborations and contribute to the comparative study of music and power in Africa.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• UNIVERSITE DE NEUCHATEL · NeuchatelCoordinatorSwitzerland

Links

• View on CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101268514