Conference: democratic governance in Africa

According to the electoral calendar, the African continent will have six presidential elections in 2023. How should we understand Africa in these times of ideological and strategic turmoil?

This conference, made possible thanks to a host fellowship from Aix-Marseille Université for Professor Francis Akindès in France, is a rare opportunity for informed discussion on the current contexts of transitions and political regulation in Africa, even as the continent faces social inequalities, social violence and the impoverishment of its population. What are the possible ways out of the crisis?

Francis Akindès is a sociologist. Professor at the University Alassane Ouattara of Bouaké. President of the Scientific Council of the Alassane Ouattara University, he is also Director of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics. In terms of his scientific influence, he is, among others, Vice President of the Scientific Council of the French Red Cross Fund, member of the Scientific Council of AFD (French Development Agency), member of the Scientific Council of the Swiss Center for Scientific Research and of the Board of Directors of Osiwa. His scientific interests are varied and include political transitions, political violence, political economy of inequalities, public policy analysis and crisis exit policies. He has been a visiting professor at several universities including Oxford University (UK), Uppsala University (Sweden) and at the Collège de France at Sciences Po (Lyon). He is the author of several articles, scientific books and documentary films on various issues.

Didier Péclard is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations and Director of the Master's degree in African Studies at the Global Studies Institute of the University of Geneva. He holds a PhD from Sciences-Po Paris (2005), was a lecturer at the University of Basel and directed the 'Statehood and Conflict' program at the Swiss Peace Foundation (swisspeace). A visiting professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2012-2013), he was co-editor of the journal African Politics between 2013 and 2018. His research focuses on the dynamics of state formation in sub-Saharan Africa with two main foci: the study of civil wars as matrices of state formation and the role of the state in development politics.

About the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)

The IRD is a multidisciplinary French public research organization that has been engaged in equitable partnerships with Southern countries and French Overseas Territories for nearly 80 years. As an actor of the international development agenda, its research priorities are in line with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Together, scientists and the Institute's partners propose concrete solutions to the global challenges facing societies and the planet. This win-win relationship makes science and innovation one of the primary levers of development.