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Although the concepts of civil society and the state stand in contrast to each other as alternative social formations grounded in different institutions and behaviours, the recent history of Côte d’Ivoire reveals them as parts of the same political strategy. This strategy consists of oscillating between the two positions as circumstances and opportunities warrant. Perhaps no group better illustrates this scenario than Côte d’Ivoire’s initiated dozo hunters, especially their most famous member, Zakaria Koné, whose career has seen multiple shifts between these standpoints. Together, dozos and Koné model the modus operandi of contemporary Ivoirian politics.