Return to the Future: France’s New Flirtation with Afro-Realism

France’s latest bout of interventionism in Africa in 2013 (Mali, Central African Republic) has led to harsh internal public scrutiny of Françafrique and its strategic rationale. France’s continued economic and security role in Sub-Saharan areas is out of step with its limited ability to sustain a standalone approach. To answer this shortfall, France appears more than ever committed to a multilateralisation of its actions, not least through a Europeanisation and Africanisation of its historical responsibilities in Africa. Its approach is likely to strengthen Africa’s status as a focus of European Security and Defence Policy and may push Poland to initiate a strategic reflection of its own interests in that part of the world.

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