“Africa +1” summit diplomacy: what kind of African agency?
Summits of the “Africa-France”, “Russia-Africa”, “China-Africa”, or “Turkey-Africa” type have proliferated in recent years. Organized alternately on the continent and abroad, these diplomatic meetings raise questions about the true place of the African continent in the international order.
Do these summits mark a turning point towards a renewed African agency, asserting a more autonomous and strategic diplomacy? Or do they rather conceal a reproduction of relations of domination, through new forms of dependence and updated predation?
This seminar aims to explore these questions by analyzing African diplomatic practices in Africa +1 summits, in order to better understand the dynamics of contemporary African international relations.
Main speaker
Dr Folashadé Soulé-Kohndou
A researcher at the University of Oxford, she is the author of several notable works, including “Power rivalries in the Sahel and security partnership diversification”, “The Study of Agency in Africa–China Relations: The Case for Typologies”, and “Decentering the analysis of Afro-Chinese relations. What African agency?”.
Moderation
Dr Ayrton Aubry
Lecturer in International Relations at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD) and Scientific Director of the research axis “Africa and International Relations” at LASPAD.
Practical information
Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Meeting ID: 822 742 7469
Code: VTb4uf