Event organised by Afstrat
An international colloquium organised by Afstrat
Strategic resources, political narratives and the redefinition of power relations.
Africa Strategia organised this colloquium entirely on its own, as part of the 93rd Acfas Congress. Selected by the congress’s scientific committee, it is among the very few African initiatives of this edition and demonstrated Afstrat’s ability to mobilise and manage an international scientific project.
Dates
14 – 15 May 2026
Venue
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (Quebec, Canada)
Congress
93rd Acfas Congress, “Science without borders” (11 – 15 May 2026)
Participants
Nearly 50 people from Africa, Europe and North America
Format
In person and by videoconference, in French
Committee
Fifteen academics from African universities, with the Africa Initiative of the University of Bern
Organisers and speakers of Colloquium 409, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
Two lines of inquiry
Axis 1
Strategic resources, conditionality and fragmented sovereignties
Control of and negotiation over critical minerals, hydrocarbons, rare earths, energy infrastructure and data: hybrid agreements combining extraction and security, digital dependencies, and African states’ trade-offs amid great-power rivalries.
Axis 2
Political practices of sovereignty and symbolic devices of resistance
Discursive, institutional and performative uses of sovereignty: diplomatic staging of autonomy, authoritarian or militarised regimes, civil society resistance, human rights and the reconfiguration of governance norms.
The most relevant contributions, after peer review, feed a collective book in preparation: “Le sol et le verbe: African sovereignty(ies) in tension. Resources, narratives and power relations in the face of global realignments”.
Objectives
What the colloquium set out to achieve
Create a high-level international scientific space devoted to the critical analysis of contemporary African sovereignties, in their political, economic, symbolic and social dimensions.
Analyse the dynamics of control, conditionality and dependence around African strategic resources.
Examine the political and symbolic uses of sovereignty in authoritarian, military or transitional contexts.
Highlight the forms of resistance and contestation carried by African civil societies.
Encourage North–South circulation of knowledge and give more visibility to African and early-career researchers.
Produce lasting deliverables: publications, policy briefs and a research network.
Calendar
From the first call to the colloquium
10 Dec. 2025 – 18 Jan. 2026
Call for papers
31 January 2026
Notification of accepted proposals
15 April 2026
Release of the final programme
20 April 2026
Submission of presentations and full papers
14 – 15 May 2026
Colloquium at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Committee
A project led by the Afstrat team
The organising and scientific committee brought together fifteen academics from Cameroonian and African universities, two diplomats and a research professional. Most of its members are affiliated with Africa Strategia; the Africa Initiative of the University of Bern supported the project.
Prof. Manassé Aboya Endong
Committee chair
Dean, University of Ébolowa
André Narcisse NGON
Colloquium lead
University of Douala — Executive Director of Afstrat
Amour Joël OMBASSA
Co-lead
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières — Member of Afstrat
Amang À NGON
Scientific committee
ESSEC, University of Douala — Vice-President of Afstrat
Djouroukoro DIALLO
Scientific committee
University of Bern — Member of Afstrat
Édouard Épiphane YOGO
Scientific committee
University of Yaoundé II — Afstrat collaborator
Andréa LAQUET
Organising committee
ILERI, Lyon — Secretary General of Afstrat
In pictures
Colloquium 409 in pictures
Two days at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, in person and by videoconference.
Organisers and speakers
In the room and online
