Dominique Barjot, Permanent Secretary of the Académie des Sciences de l’Outre-Mer, deciphers his institution for us and shares his thoughts on North-South relations.
Is it a challenge for you to take charge of the Académie des Sciences de l’Outre-Mer, founded in 1922, an institution that embodies the ‘temple’ of knowledge (Africa, Latin America, Asia, Oceania)?
Yes! This Academy was born just after the First World War with the aim of taking an interest in the entire French colonial empire. At the time, the idea was that France, exhausted by the war, needed to regenerate itself through the contribution of Africa and, more generally, its colonial empire. Unfortunately, the events and the hopes placed in the empire were disappointing. This was experienced by our Academy, which has always defended the idea that this colonial space was an asset for the French nation. It was also in the environment of our Academy that the idea was born that it was necessary to help formerly colonised countries to become independent, to take charge of themselves in order to become powerful and prosperous states. It was the hope of cooperation.
What is your role as Permanent Secretary of the Academy?
The Academy is a gathering of scholars who, being independent, think about the world, try to reflect on what we can build for the future, for the good of humanity. We are one academy among many in France. There are us and the five so-called Academies of the Institute (the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Fine Arts, the French Academy and the Academy of Inscriptions and Literature). They were founded by Richelieu with royal approval. Then, with Napoleon, the establishment of the parliamentary regime and the Republic, the idea arose that this model of Academy should be democratised.
What are your ambitions for your ten-year term of office?
It’s a real challenge! The Permanent Secretary is a kind of operational managing director of an institution under public law. It is made up of 275 academicians, 200 of whom are part of the disciplinary sections. Within these sections, there are 20 academicians and 20 correspondents, who are present all over the world and relay the Academy’s actions. The remaining 75 people, including 50 associates, who are often prestigious personalities, in particular heads of state and government of countries of the South, such as Léopold Sédar Senghor and Abdou Diouf (Senegal), President Cardoso (Brazil).
We have a final category, the free members. A group of people who welcome new disciplines that our structure has not managed to integrate. We are an interdisciplinary institution. It brings together academics, researchers, scientists and people of action. It is a combined force.
For the past three years, we have chosen to have a theme of the year. In 2022, it was Migration; in 2023, Globalisation and its limits; this year, 2025, the reconfiguration of the international order. As you can see, we started with the issue of Migration and ended up with the hope of rebuilding a world order that promotes peace, justice and international security.
How does the public benefit from this knowledge?
We are very open-minded. The traditional activities of the Academies consist of regularly organising sessions on a major theme of the contemporary world, calling on members of the Academy and external personalities.
In order to win over a more representative loyal audience, we have created a Society of Friends of our institution, made up of people who would not naturally be recruited as academicians, but who have a desire to learn and share knowledge with the outside world.
We also have activities that open us up to the outside world, with the organisation of exhibitions, book presentations and debates. On the other hand, we also have specific actions aimed at young people. We help French and foreign university organisations to organise conferences on our premises. Our aim is to be open.
Do you use new technologies to communicate and expand your networks?
All our sessions are now broadcast by videoconference. This allows us to double our audience at each of our sessions and to create participation with people who are far away, of course, but who can ask questions and contribute to our discussions. It’s a wonderful enrichment!
What is the place of Africa in your institution?
It can be explained by historical reasons. We were born out of the realisation that France could be reborn thanks to the forces of its colonial empire after the First World War. However, its empire was primarily African. In our library, 40% of the total volume consists of works that deal only with Africa. As a result, we are a centre of expertise on the African continent that is unrivalled in France. We live in a global, changing world. To take an interest in Africa today and share useful experiences with Africans, you have to take an interest in the whole world.
You have taken an interest in issues such as economic history from the 19th to the 21st century, business history, leadership, including recently the Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote. Why this choice?
By focusing on Asia and the Far East, I discovered that the key to their development lay in the creation of conglomerates with exceptional entrepreneurs who had built groups capable of lasting a very long time on the international stage. Take, for example, Toyota in Japan and Samsung in South Korea. China has followed this path; it is the Asian model. This has allowed me to bring out an important notion, the constitution, in all emerging countries, of multinationals which compensate, through their size, for the structural lag on developed countries.
Is there an identified process that can be followed?
These large emerging multinationals have emerged in the Far East and are developing in India, in northern Europe and in Asia, particularly in Russia. If Russia had not been involved in a war with Ukraine, it would have followed a fairly similar development curve to that seen in other emerging countries such as those in Latin America, particularly Mexico and Brazil.
These are powers whose international competitiveness is based on large groups founded by enterprising entrepreneurs.
In Africa, Aliko Dangote is following this path. This is what I observed in Nigeria with its immense wealth, its potential, its contradictions with a dreadful and irrational political system. Despite this, the country has managed to generate powerful economic forces. This means that it is always possible that, in a country facing many obstacles, the entrepreneurial spirit can overcome the difficulties.
In the case of Aliko Dangote, you have to look at the huge development of urbanisation in the country, with gigantic cities under construction. For that you need cement and housing. He also understood that in order to develop, you can’t just focus on the country as a business, you have to have an international strategy. That’s what Aliko Dangote has succeeded in doing. Through his cement project, he has become a leader in the entire African continent, to such an extent that he is even competitive in countries at the extreme ends of Africa, such as North Africa and South Africa.
Relations between France and Africa are very close. Today they have been damaged by various failures. How can these relationships be redefined despite the perpetual crises?
It’s true. We are facing a formidable challenge. We have experienced a period of cooperation in which African heads of state and French leaders worked closely together. This was at a time when France was rich and prosperous and had a competitive advantage in the world. This is no longer the case today. France must review its position. It must take account of the opinion of its partners, the great nations of the world and of Europe. It must review its position at a time when African countries are facing enormous challenges such as demographics, health and access to knowledge and education for all.
We understand Africa’s disappointment with France. The solution certainly lies in dialogue. Africa needs concrete solutions. But the important thing is how to go about it. We are no longer in the perspective of ‘ready-made projects’ provided by the countries of the North. Today, we need to be able to co-manage, co-construct and co-design the projects of the future to meet the challenges facing Africa.
This means helping these countries to acquire skills in scientific disciplines that will enable them to engage in dialogue as equals with Western countries, and then to share knowledge, techniques, technologies and know-how. As a Western country, we must accept that African countries can seek partnerships outside Europe to acquire the technology and knowledge they need. Unfortunately, we can no longer be a single point of contact!
We are in a major geopolitical upheaval, especially with Donald Trump’s return to business. Is this much-discussed ‘global South’ a matter of reflection for you?
It is fundamental. It is one of the key issues of our Academy. One of the fundamental reasons for its existence. The global South is often a qualifier used to say that we no longer understand how things work in the countries of the South. It is true that some amazing things are happening in some countries, changes, mutations, transformations that must be taken into account.
From this point of view, all countries have the right to development, prosperity and social and economic progress. We cannot decree this for them. We are now in a situation where we need to develop joint projects, with equal parts for countries that have entered the development path and those that are in the process of doing so.
This raises the whole issue of whether or not there should be free trade. Is the solution for everyone to shut themselves away behind their borders? I say no. It is not a case of the strongest crushing the weakest. We therefore need to find a way forward that has an international dimension. A way forward based on cooperation and collaboration, on bilateral and multilateral agreements.
In conclusion, whatever anyone says, Africa is the continent of the future par excellence. We must believe in its future.
Transcription by Mamadou Bah.
