Back

APSACO 9th Edition - Owning the Story: Africa’s Strategic Agency in the Geopolitics of Ideas

June 19, 2025
Related topics: 
Security & Defense
International Relations
Geopolitics
Africa

Narratives are not neutral, they shape how power, legitimacy, and agency are distributed in international relations. For decades, Africa has been subject to external framings that have often constrained its diplomatic and intellectual space. In an era marked by contested global norms and ideological pluralism, can Africa move from being narrated to narrating? What tools, institutions, and strategies are available to assert a sovereign and credible African voice in global affairs? This panel will examine Africa’s capacity to shape geopolitical narratives by reinforcing its epistemic sovereignty and reclaiming its space in international discursive arenas. It will explore how think tanks, academic institutions, diplomatic actors, and civil society contribute to building African perspectives capable of influencing global debates, from multilateral governance to peace and development. The discussion will also assess the barriers that continue to marginalize African voices, and the conditions under which the continent can consolidate narrative influence as a form of strategic power.

Speakers
Karim El Aynaoui
Executive President
Karim El Aynaoui is Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South. He is also Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Cluster.  Karim El Aynaoui is an economist. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco where he held the position of Director of Economics, Statistics, and International Relations. At the Central Bank of Morocco, he was in charge of the Research Department and equally a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World Bank as an Economist for its regional units of the Middle East and North Africa and Africa. Karim El Aynaoui has published books and journal articles on macroeconomic issues in developing ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Download PDF
    Moroccan Armed Forces in the Face of Geopolitical Mutations
    Authors
    Rachid El Houdaigui
    September 9, 2019
    One of the first sovereign decisions of independent Morocco was to create the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) on 14 May 1956. Since then, the mission of the Moroccan army is consistent with the country's historical continuity shaped by strategic constants, it has however been subject to both conceptual and operational pressures since the late 1990s, as the lines between defense and security have blurred. This paper explores the central issue of adjusting the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) to a r ...
  • Download PDF
    Stability and Security in Africa: The Role of Hard and Soft Power
    Authors
    Scientific Committee :
    Abdelhak Bassou
    Rachid El Houdaigui
    Jack Kalpakian
    Nizar Messari
    Sara Hasnaa Mokaddem
    Ahmed Rhazaoui
    June 14, 2019
    Enhancing the strategic thinking on issues related to stability and security at the African level requires challenging the predominant classical conception of security towards a more comprehensive, supportive and inclusive approach. While traditional strategies are often based on military responses and hard power, it is necessary to emphasize soft power in all its dimensions, placing the individual at the heart of all conflict prevention and management methods. Some authors argue f ...
  • Download PDF
    The UK’s policy towards Africa post-Brexit
    Authors
    Juliana Suess
    May 24, 2019
    On the eve of Britain’s exit from the European Union, the country is redefining its international approach. The United Kingdom has already taken action by becoming involved in new economic commitments, new trade agreements in Commonwealth countries but also from a diplomatic point of view in West Africa. While development aid remains a focal point of its intervention in Africa, it risks being undermined by the Brexit and its economic consequences. However, the United Kingdom is now ...
  • L’Allemagne au Sahel : Un espoir pour plus de développement et de coordination
    Authors
    Abdelhak Bassou
    May 3, 2019
    La chancelière allemande, Angela Merkel, effectue une visite officielle au Burkina Faso en ces débuts du mois de mai, accompagnée d’une délégation d’hommes d’affaires et de responsables de l’économie. La visite est assortie d’une participation à un Sommet du G5 Sahel, dont le Burkina assure présentement la présidence. Si la question de la sécurité et de la lutte contre le terrorisme reste toujours de mise, l’intérêt allemand pour la région, et surtout la nature de la délé ...
  • Libya and France: A Revival of ‘Napoleonism’?
    Authors
    Youssef Tobi
    May 3, 2019
    France appears to be relying on force to patch up problems in Africa, and particularly in Libya. None of this is compatible with President Macron’s lofty foreign policy declarations. French President Emmanuel Macron has classified colonisation as a crime against humanity. He is also keen to redefine the relationship with former French colonies. But in practice, there has never been a more ‘let’s go to war’ or ‘va t-en guerre’ attitude, in terms of its hopes for invol ...
  • Download PDF
    The Outbreak of Peace and Symbolism of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Border
    Authors
    Rida Lyammouri
    March 26, 2019
    The opening of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea symbolized an important phase in the newfound relations between the two. Since their rapprochement in June 2018, events have occurred at a frenzied pace, yet much was still in the political arena and removed from demonstrating tangible benefits to average citizens. By opening the border, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea changed that. Yet the border opening also reveals an insight into a previously isolated and largely closed ...
  • Poutine et la campagne d’Afrique
    Authors
    Mehdi Benomar
    November 25, 2018
    Lors du Forum Russie-Afrique, tenu récemment à Moscou, le ministre russe des Affaires étrangères, Sergey Lavrov, a souligné que les relations entre son pays et ses partenaires africains ne seront pas “impactées par des facteurs extérieurs”. Venant du chef de la diplomatie russe depuis  2004, la formule peut paraître courte mais, à demi-mot, elle est porteuse de la détermination de Moscou de renforcer sa présence en Afrique, surtout que le forum de Moscou s’est tenu en préparat ...
  • Gulf Actors and the Role of Peace in the Horn of Africa
    Authors
    Rida Lyammouri
    October 31, 2018
    There has been a flurry of activity in the Horn of Africa recently, where decades-old political disputes have suddenly been put to rest. The resulting changes have shattered the status quo in the region, putting the Horn on a new path where state-to-state relations are no longer marked by regional competition and frozen borders. While this has undoubtedly been a positive development for the region, one big piece of the puzzle has been the role of external actors in the process, and ...
  • Download PDF
    Présidentielle 2019 au Nigéria: Un paysage pré-électoral dominé par les violences et les rivalités politiques
    Authors
    Abdelhak Bassou
    October 28, 2018
    Depuis l’annonce, par le Président Muhammad Buhari, de sa candidature à l’élection présidentielle de février 2019, le Nigéria vit une fièvre de campagne électorale prématurée. Du côté de la majorité, le temps est à assurer un deuxième mandat au Président en exercice et, dans les rangs de l’opposition, l’effort est consacré à la quête de la personne qui portera son fanion et au choix de la manière de contrer le All Progressive Congress (APC), aux affaires. Si la bataille pour l’acqui ...
  • S’adapter à une menace changeante, l’Europe face à sa sécurité
    Authors
    Sabine Cessou
    September 24, 2018
    La conférence « A Brave New World, Adapting to a changing security landscape », organisée par Friends of Europe, le 20 septembre 2018 à Bruxelles, a consisté en des tables rondes auxquelles ont participé Bouchra Rahmouni Benhida, Senior Research Fellow d'OCP Policy Center et Amal El Ouassif, Research Assistant, notamment sur les plus grands défis de la politique extérieure européenne. « C’était très gratifiant de voir distribuées, aujourd’hui, les conclusions sur ...