The Prefects’ War

Studies of state administration have occupied a prominent place in social sciences. However, current literature offers little understanding of its functioning in states governed by violence. The article seeks to provide an analysis of the formation and practices of local administration in Chad. How does the local state govern the inter-war, i.e. the spaces and times which are affected by a violent mode of governing and where war remains on the horizon ? The article shows how clientelism, state illegal practices and predation (as a result of impunity granted to local state officials) are a form of continuation of the war. State violence is all the more efficient that it is combined with the local state’s firm grip on people’s daily life. Such an administration is not simply dysfunctional ; it is linked to a historically grounded mode of governing. Beyond the case of Chad, the article interrogates insidious forms of violence hidden by apparent stability or peace.