THE KOKOROWE PACT AS A SUCCESSFUL CASE OF AN ENDOGENOUS MECHANISM FOR CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN BURKINA FASO

Abstract

Using the case of Kokorowe (Burkina Faso), this article examines how endogenous mechanisms (traditional chieftaincy, joking kinship) contribute to conflict resolution and the restoration of social bonds within a context of institutional pluralism. The study draws on 18 semi-structured interviews focused on life narratives, conducted between September and November 2025, and on a thematic analysis of discourse (qualitative approach) collected from Bobo farmers, Fulani herders, customary authorities and administrative actors. The findings show that the chieftaincy acts as an effective mediator when the enforcement of judicial decisions is socially costly or materially difficult to implement, where as joking kinship enables the de-escalation of conflict by converting transgression intoreciprocal obligations, notably through visible gestures of reparation. The article thus proposes a conceptualisation of endogenous mechanisms as relational infrastructures of pacification, while also discussing the conditions for their success and their limitations.