After Disputed Ivory Coast Election, Africa Tries to Break a Bloody Cycle

It’s an old story of leaders clinging to power, if not popularity, and ignoring election results. But increasingly, global media and observers rage against the election disputes and subsequent violence. “President Laurent Gbagbo has simply refused to accept the verdict of the electorate in the Nov. 28 runoff election won by his opponent, Alassane Ouattara,” reports Vivienne Wald for Time Magazine about the election in Côte d'Ivoire. Leaders who refuse to accept transition of power can expect diminished respect, both inside their nation and beyond their country’s borders, and this in turn leads to economic decline. International efforts can provoke a backlash, and power-sharing arrangements postpone transitions indefinitely, Wald notes. The most effective strategy, she suggests, could be for neighboring African countries to isolate Gbagbo and those of similar ilk, rejecting their legitimacy. – YaleGlobal