Study day
AFRICA 2023 - CITIZEN MOVEMENTS, PRAETORIAN RESTORATION AND NEW INTERNATIONAL CONFIGURATIONS

Africa 2023 – Citizen Movements, Praetorian Restorations and New International Configurations

Sciences Po - 28 rue des Saints-Pères, Paris
Simultaneous translation into English and French

A conference organised by Cornell University, Northwestern Universityand Sciences Poin partnership with African politics and the Tournons la page coalition.
Co-organized by Cornell University, Northwestern University and Sciences Po in partnership with African politics and Turning the page

In the 2010s, African civil society organizations got increasingly involved in public debates about constitutional changes (especially on the limitation of presidential terms), and the freedom of expression. Civic movements tried to coalesce and bring about new debates about the meaning of democracy and whether it actually had delivered in their country. With some differences, they elaborated new narratives on the legacy of colonial time that further questioned foreign military interventions and the essence of their national sovereignty.

In the 2020s, mobilization against French engagement rose all over the Sahel region. This was the unsurprising outcome of these debates as well as a surge in defiance of France's policy towards Africa and new activism on social networks. Military take-over in several West African countries was met with ambivalence by these activists. How to account for this growing uncertain relation between citizen movements, praetorian restorations and new international configurations? This conference will tackle these controversial issues by bringing together academics and civic movements activists, mostly members of the pan-African coalition Turning the page.

For more information on the general argument and the abstracts for each panel, please contact click hereTo access more content on the general argument and the abstracts of each panel, please click here.

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Jour 1 / Day 1 - Tuesday, May 16
Salle/Room Simone Veil (ground floor)
28 rue des Saints - Pères - Paris 7 

9:30 : Discours d'ouverture / Official Opening Speeches

Panel 1
10:00 – 11:15

Achievements and limits of democratisation in Africa 1990-2023 / Democratic achievements and their limits in Africa 1990-2023 

Chairman/Chair: Laurent Fourchard, Sciences Po - CERI

Democratic Progress in Africa, 1990-2023: Stylised Facts and Hypotheses for the Future / Democratic progress in Africa, 1990-2023: Stylized facts and hypotheses about the Future 
Nic van de WalleCornell University 

Discussants : Mohammed Tozy, IREMAM, Aix en Provence - Marc Ona EssanguiTournons la Page (TLP) (Chairman/Chair Person)

Panel 2
11:30 – 13:15

Has democracy succeeded? / Has democracy delivered? 

President/Chair: Sandrine Perrot, Sciences Po - CERI

Democratic retreat and resilience: Opening up democratic space through new opposition strategies / Democratic Backsliding and Resilience: Opening Democratic Space Through Opposition Strategies

Rachel Riedl, Cornell University

2013-2023 : The degradation of civic space in Africa / 2013-2023: the deterioration of the civic space in Africa

Marc Ona EssanguiTurons la Page - TLP

"Cabri mort n'a pas peur de couteau". The dead ends of the passive democratic revolution of the 1990s and the unfulfilled promises of the civic uprisings of the 2010s
"A dead goat does not fear a knife": The dead ends of the passive democratic revolution of the 1990s and the unfulfilled promises of the civic insurgencies of the 2010s

Richard BanégasSciences Po - CERI

Discussant: Elhadji Idi Abdou,TLP-Niger 

Pause déjeuner / Lunch break 

Panel 3
14:45 -17:45

Not the praetorian alternatives of the past / Not the praetorian alternatives, we witnessed before

Chairman/Chair: William RenoNorthwestern University

African armies from bottom to top: actions and influence of the lower ranks / African militaries from the bottom up: the actions and influence of the junior ranks

Maggie DwyerUniversity of Edinburgh

Beyond the coup d'état in civil-military relations in Africa / Beyond the Coup D'état in African Civil Military Relations?

Moses KhisaUniversity of North Carolina State

Preventing misconduct by security forces: Survey data from African security forces / Preventing Security Force Misconduct: Survey Evidence from African Security Forces

Sabrina KarimCornell University

Are the Praetorians learning any lessons? The cases of Bissau and Conakry / Praetorians learning lessons? The view from Bissau and Conakry

Vincent FoucherSciences Po Bordeaux CNRS & ACPA

Community response to radicalisation in West Africa / Community Response to Radicalization in West Africa

Lamin KeitaNorthwestern University

Discussant: Brigitte AmeganviTLP - Togo/France

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Jour 2 / Day 2 - Wednesday, May 16 - Mercredi 17 mai
Salle/Room Simone Veil (ground floor)
28 rue des Saints - Pères - Paris 7 

Panel 4 

9:30 -11:30

Counter-hegemonic discourse and new international configurations / Counter-hegemonic discourses and new international configurations

Chairman/Chair: Richard BanégasSciences Po-CERI

Russia's false crusade against Western neo-colonialism in Africa / Russia's False Crusade Against Western Neocolonialism in Africa

Samuel RamaniOxford University

Deconstructing "anti-French sentiment / Unpacking the "anti-French sentiment

Marie-Emmanuelle PommerolleUniversity of Paris I

Mali: from post-colonial protest to strategic competition / Mali: from postcolonial contestation to strategic competition

Denis TullSWP, Berlin

Discussant: Paul SamangassouTLP (Associated with / Associé à) 

Panel 5
11:45 – 13:30  

From defending the constitution to supporting military coups / From defending the constitution to endorsing military coups

President/Chair: Rachel Riedl, Cornell University

Sudan's political transition under armed guard (2019-2023) / The Sudanese political transition under the tutelage of arms (2019-2023) 

Clément DeshayesIRSEM, Paris

Civil society and security challenges in West Africa / Civil society and security challenges in West Africa

Ismaël CompaoréThomas Sankara University, Ouagadougou

The deficit of the Left in Africa: Explaining the decline of opposition parties and the rise of popular movements / Africa's Left Deficit: Explaining the Decline of Oppositional Parties and the Rise of Popular Movements

Zachariah MampillyBarush College & City University of New York

Discussant: Demba KaryomTLP - Chad