STRUCTURAL POWER TOWARD WEAK STATES: FRANCE, NOT CHINA, MATTERS IN FRANCOPHONE AFRICA

Abstract

This article seeks to explain the determinants of France influence compared to that of China in Francophone Africa. Focusing on the paradigm of structural power as theorized by Susan Strange, it will attempt to debunk any considerations of a “declining” French influence in Francophone Africa. It will be argued that the existence of "special relationships" manifested through close political and cultural ties but also through covert economic and military networks give onto France the potentials to determine the structure of the regional political economy, in which Francophone African States evolve (hypothesis).