DE LA CONFLICTUALITÉ A LA CONNECTIVITÉ : LA PACIFICATION DES FRONTIÈRES AFRICAINES COMME CONDITION DE MISE EN OEUVRE DE LA ZLECAF

Abstract

For a long time, perceived as fault lines inherited from colonization, African borders have been the focus of conflict, enclavment and marginalization. However, the rise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (Afcfta) introduces a strategic reinterpretation of these border areas, now seen as economic and political interfaces of regional integration. This article offers a critical analysis of the transformation of border functions in the light of the Afcfta, showing that the success of this continental project results from the pacification and reterritorialization of these sensitive areas. Through an analytical approach combining geopolitical legacies, African institutional arrangements, and the logic of trade integration, this work highlights that the political, functional, and security reconfiguration of borders has favored the implementation of the Afcfta.