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- Convenors:
-
Susann Baller
(Centre Marc Bloch Berlin)
Rogers Orock (louisiana State University)
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- Discussant:
-
Helga Dickow
(Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut)
- Format:
- Panel
- Stream:
- 'Françafrique'
- Location:
- Room 1139
- Sessions:
- Thursday 9 June, -
Time zone: Europe/Berlin
Short Abstract:
This panel explores the complex reciprocal relations between France and Africa which have been characterized by tensions, conflict and suspicion, but also collaboration, complicity and connivance. It focuses on concrete interactions which reflect the entangled history of the FrançAfrique.
Long Abstract:
This panel invites papers which address examples of how the concept and practice of the FrançAfrique has evolved over time as an expression of the complex reciprocal relations between France and Africa. It argues that the history between France and different African countries has been characterized not only by tensions, conflict and suspicion, but also by collaboration, complicity and connivance. While the beginnings of the FrançAfrique were rooted in the French colonial Empire, the panel is also interested in contributions which consider changing ways of conceptualizing Africa as a sphere of French influence and how French politics have responded to other claims for political, economic or cultural control (such as Russian or Chinese lending and military support). Moreover, the panel reflects on different arenas on which discourses and practices of the FrançAfrique have been invented, negotiated and contested. Contributions to this panel may examine rather “old” questions of the FrançAfrique (e.g. neocolonialism, extraction, cooperation, cultural diplomacy, etc.) or may find new fields of contentions and struggles (e.g. sexuality, war on terrorism, reforms of CFA currency, uranium deals). Papers are expected to focus on concrete examples and setting during which shifting configurations of the FrançAfrique have been produced, and to emphasize the role of both African and French actors (such as political leaders, businessmen, members of international organizations, cultural entrepreneurs, diplomats).
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 9 June, 2022, -Paper short abstract:
Presented as constitutive elements of a multifaceted strategic partnership, relations between Chad, a Sahelian State, and France are not outside of questioning. To what extent can these ties be considered as a pragmatic interdependence and/or a distinct form of Françafrique?
Paper long abstract:
The various regimes that ruled Chad, a vast Sahelian state with a very strategic position and a rich subsoil, maintained more than “cordial” relations with the former colonial power, France. The latter did not hesitate to intervene militarily to fly to the aid of more than one Chadian regime, especially through its military bases on Chadian soil.
Nowadays, taking advantage of the particular security context of the Sahel, Chad is establishing its status as a "very privileged" partner of France in its war against terrorism. N'Djamena's support for France, in this case with soldiers experienced in combat, played a decisive role in the fight against jihadist movements in the Sahelian zone.
In return, Chad has always been able to count on the support of France, which pleads for its cause before continental (European Union) and international (UN, IMF, WB etc.) bodies. France does not hesitate to come directly to Chad’s aid in its many economic crises which result from poor management of public affairs.
At first glance, one has the impression that the Franco-Chadian "amity”, in this particular security context, is based on the principle of a pragmatic relationship serving the crucial interests of the two States, thus a classic interdependence. But if we try to analyse more profoundly, many ambiguous aspects will emerge that could fall under Françafrique in its extreme forms.
Adopting an interdisciplinary contemporary approach, my paper will focus on the complex relations between France and Chad on various levels.
Paper long abstract:
Since the creation of the Frolinat in 1966, the first post-independence rebel group in Chad, the country has been among those, which have been most affected by political and armed conflict in francophone Africa. The former colonial power France has been involved in these tensions both directly and indirectly. The most prominent examples for this are the repeated interventions of the French in Chad as well as a number of French military agreements to support governments in Chad. This has created a backlash against France among the Chadian population. The anti-French criticism, led mainly by young people and instrumentalised by political, economic and sometimes military elites, has remained dominated by a militant and emotional criticism, while there are only very few critical academic studies, which analyse this complex relation.
In this paper, I intend to explore these debates by focusing on the question of how Chadian political actors have instrumentalized France for their own interests. The aim is to understand the role and place of France in Chad through the prism of demand and supply in the context of political and military strategies of Chadian elites. I consider the wars of the Frolinat against the regime of President Tombalbaye, the divisions within the Frolinat, the regime of François Tombalbaye’s Cultural Revolution and the role of President Deby, characterized by some observers as “France's policeman” in Africa. Methodologically, I rely mainly on interviews with former political leaders in Chad, the writings of historians and critical reading of the press.
Paper short abstract:
The Sahel remains mired in a status quo of hellish violence despite its invasion by French troops under the guise of security. This article aims to analyze the spectre of Françafrique on this unprecedented insecurity through the external interference, geopolitical calculation and factious collusion.
Paper long abstract:
Social science research is a constant search for meaning. This work consists of establishing the shadow of françafrique on the chronic and organised insecurity in the Sahel through France's recent military interventions. A singular relationship, françafrique endures, transforms and intelligently adapts to the current realities of this region, which is prey to the instrumentalisation of the war on terror. In fact, despite the intense presence of French troops for more than a decade, terrorist groups are on the rise and are insidiously spreading their offensives as far as the countries of the Gulf of Guinea. This increased militarisation of the Sahel in defiance of state sovereignty and the development of structural violence illustrate the faces of modern-day Françafrique in the name of the fight against terrorism and international security. A policy of recolonisation that is the breeding ground of Françafrique and accentuates the military dependence of the already fragile Sahel states on the former metropolis. It is therefore necessary to ask the following questions: How is France trying to re-legitimise its recent military interventions? What link can be made between these foreign interventions and the sovereignty of the Sahel countries? The spectre of Françafrique in the Sahel is a tangle of concepts: modern colonisation, political decolonisation, political economy, business, geopolitics and diplomacy against a backdrop of state breakdown and structural violence. Their epistemological analysis contributes to the social science literature on the influence of Françafrique in the political, economic, social, cultural and military spheres on the African continent in general.