Project description
Music and political elites in Côte d’Ivoire
The ballot box is not the only stage for political power. Music has a voice as well. Supported by the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions programme, the PEMICI project aims to explore the vibrant music scene of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire to reveal how cultural industries actively reproduce political elites. Analysing performative practices where patronage becomes a public spectacle (through monetary payments, public praise and masculine distinction), the project explores the symbolic transactions linking artists with politicians. The findings will shed light on the complex realities and political-cultural entanglements of West Africa’s creative economy.
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.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2000 Neuchatel
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.