Africa in this 21st century is confronted with a multitude of challenges (economic, political, social, cultural, industrial, technological, etc.). Among these challenges come first and without exclusive: reduction of extreme poverty, and underdevelopment, fight against its marginalisation on the international arena, strengthening democracy, rule of law, governance and respect of human rights.


African States are evolving in a context where foreign affairs and world politics evolutions are at the center of any political action, as the planet forms an interconnected entity whose evolutions somewhere can affect another society in its core. Moreover, the nature primarily external of the means likely to contribute to poverty reduction in Africa or efficiently address its challenges, makes the diplomatic deployment of African states a central and vital instrument and an element at stake. For a long time, African states diplomatic apparatuses, that represent nations advanced post abroad, were perceived like bodies where pageantry and appearance took precedence over the essence of their action and the content of foreign policy objectives clearly defined.


The world is permanently changing and consequently doesn’t put up anymore with any political wisdom indigence and even less with diplomatic know-how indigence. Regarding that situation, it is time to define, conceive and approach diplomacy in Africa like a technical and practical tool committed to meeting African states fundamental challenges in the current world; it is time to put diplomatic tools at the service of economic and social progress, by regarding each sector of the development as one of its sphere of activities. The achievement of this objective implies the reinforcement of their operational capacities: capacities of information, communication, coordination, negotiation, analysis, action and forecast. To enable African states mobilizing opportunities offered at the international level and more particularly take advantage of international co-operation opportunities to address their challenges, their diplomatic apparatuses must acquire modern and efficient information and communication capacities. This is what constitutes the core of this book on the challenges and opportunities offered by the Information revolution for the revival of the diplomatic activity in Africa.


This book (in French) follows three stages:


After a brief returned and analysis of the transformations (in particular those induced by the phenomenon of globalisation) which underwent the international scene, more particularly foreign policies and particularly those of African states (Chapter 1). This part also examines a fertile topic in the post-modern international relations: the development co-operation. In that respect, various evolutions (concepts and practices) of development co-operation are re-examined (Chapter 2).


Reconsidering two main phenomena structuring the current international scene: globalisation and the information revolution, the second part operationalizes African diplomatic apparatus deployment in that context. This part studies the constraints (changes on the levels of the international actors and emergences of new stakes) induced by the phenomenon of globalisation on the diplomatic deployment of African States and more particularly some challenges (development, fight against poverty, regional integration, fight against transnational organized crime and illicit trade of small arms and light weapons) whose resolution poses an urgent imperative in the African context (Chapter 3). Finally, after studying general features and potentialities of the information revolution, the book, relying on interviews with some African foreign affairs officers, observations and documents analysis, and although only twenty national diplomatic systems has been covered, gives an insightful overview of the appropriation (Chapter 4) (level of computerization, deployment of intranet, etc.) and use of IT by African diplomatic apparatuses (mainly within headquarters). In this respect, a global survey extended to all African national diplomatic systems, could be useful and insightful in the framework of this problematique.


In the last part, the book suggests a new diplomacy model based on the use of IT; it is about designing a model of “E-Diplomacy” within African national diplomatic systems. The design of this model based on the use of IT analyses organizational and functional challenges for national diplomatic systems and to their activities. It also reviews and analyses possible obstacles (technical, financial, political and administrative) to the implementation of this model and subsequent consequences for African countries diplomatic deployment in the international diplomatic arena (Chapter 5). To finish, it draws out new prospects (Chapter 6) the use of IT could offer the Africa diplomatic activities within the framework of sub-regional, regional and international relations (strengthening collective diplomatic action – multilateral diplomacy -, sub-regional or regional crisis management and helping in the implementation and reinforcing the efficiency of sub-regional early warning systems).


The book is not an apology of an almighty technology mythology, driving social and economic change, which accompanies each technological evolution. The appropriation of IT could not constitute an end in itself. To borrow a sentence from the United Nations Secretary general, Kofi Annan, in his speech at the opening ceremony of the World Summit on the Information Society, in Geneva (Switzerland) in December 2003, “Information and Communication Technologies are not a panacea, nor a magic formula” for an effective and efficient Diplomacy, particularly as far as African states are concerned. Other parameters intervene in the reinforcement of the effectiveness and efficiency of diplomatic tools. To illustrate this fact, the following sentence quoted by Marcel Merle is insightful: “in a kingdom over taxed, filled of dissatisfied people, whose finances are exhausted, where the military discipline is neglected, where intrigues choke emulation by rewarding useless and even pernicious talents, what could make a Foreign Affairs Minister, whatever his talent?”