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Who are we?

Published by the Association des chercheurs de Politique africaine and Karthala publising press, Politique africaine is a multidisciplinary peer reviewed associative journal centered on the analysis of politics in Africa. Founded in 1981 as a clear departure from conventional approaches on Africa, it has emerged in France and abroad, as a reference publication for the whole of the international expert community on the continent.

For more than 40 years, the journal has been instrumental in de-exoticising Western academic perceptions about African politics. Politique africaine offers an innovative reading of the place of politics in African societies, contributing to a more detailed analysis of developments taking place in Africa and its relations with the rest of the world.

Each issue is structured around a particular topic, country or regional area case studies.

With more than 160 issues published, the academic journal values fresh empirical data and theoretical approach. The journal gives priority to unpublished fieldworks, is wide open to African authors and strives to strengthen collaboration with various research organizations from the continent. Politique africaine also aims to bridge the gap between in-depth academic researches and current affairs analysis. It wishes to provide a larger readership outside the academia with keys to understanding the vagaries of the continent.

All the articles from issues 1 to 72 of the journal are available for open access on our website (section “numéros parus“) and on the website of Archives de Politique africaine (politique-africaine.com). The journal has also been online on the CAIRN website since 2001 with a one-year moving barrier. The Carnet de la revue discloses the latest issues published and the scientific news from the journal and the ACPA.

The Association of African Policy Scholars (ACPA) was established in May 1980 for the purpose of publishing and managing the journal. The ACPA is composed of about 80 researchers, of various nationalities, and from all social science disciplines. The association manages the journal’s finances, promotes the issues published and participates in the scientific animation of the journal. We regularly organise debates and study days on major current issues in Africa and on important research books that often lead to articles published in the journal.

Since 2011, ACPA has been involved in the organisation of writing workshops for doctoral students and young researchers both in France (Bordeaux in 2011, Paris in 2014) and in Africa (Dakar in 2012, Rabat in 2016, Yaoundé and Bouaké in 2021) to encourage young researchers to publish in academic journals by familiarising them to the evaluation and selection processes for scientific articles, which too often constitute a barrier that is difficult to overcome for many young researchers.

As part of the 40th anniversary of the journal, in 2021, ACPA has organised two events in Africa with the support of local institutions in Yaoundé, Abidjan and Bouaké, with the intention to renew these initiatives ono the continent to maintain a lively academic debate and contribute to its circulation.