AFRIQUE, ÉVOLUTION POLITIQUE ET DÉVELOPPEMENT: RÉSULTAT D’UN SYSTÈME À GÉOGRAPHIE VARIABLE

Abstract

Africa, Political Evolution and Development: The Result of a Variable Geography System. This article analyses the political evolution of Africa and its development through a two-tier schema, on the one hand the image of a clearly advancing Africa, symbol of the new Eldorado, and on the other hand the observation of a system in crisis, the result of a trapped and maintained legacy, characteristic of an entity with variable geography that cannot be apprehended as a single block. A continent with rich potential, it has attracted rivalries since the dawn of time, rivalries that had led to its division in a balance of power dictated by the West. Slavery and colonialism remain the great shocks of its history. Decolonization had been decisive in its political evolution but very early on, the young States came up against harsh realities, spontaneously acquired independence, the consequences of which would influence their political and socio-economic development. It is true that the starting point was the same, but the political choice made by some States had enabled them to make a difference in terms of democracy and economic development, as in the case of Senegal. The authoritarianism established in some countries, such as Chad, had led to civil wars and coups d'état that blocked development. It was not until 1990 that the wind of democracy could blow over black Africa with the hope of a better future.