Wednesday, September 20, 2017
4pm, Pugh Hall 302
Francophonie and Françafrique
For this presentation, Dr. Thomas Hale will discuss the concepts of Francophonie and Françafrique. More particularly, he will show that while Francophonie and Françafrique have offered France different tools for influencing francophone countries in Africa, French support for the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, an exemplar of soft power, is waning. The hard power of La Françafrique, France’s shadowy operations in francophone Africa, has attracted criticism by anti-colonial activists and the last three presidents of France. The critics cite evidence for overlap of the two phenomena, and the emergence of a new form of French smart power in francophone Africa.
This talk is co-sponsored by The France Florida Research Institute with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
This event is free and open to public
For more information please contact Hélène Huet (hhuet at ufl dot edu) or Alioune Sow (sow at ufl dot edu)