PUBLIC-SPIRITED MOVEMENTS IN WESTERN AFRICA; THE EXAMPLE OF BURKINA-FASO / MOUVEMENTS CITOYENS ENGAGES EN AFRIQUE DE L’OUEST; LE CAS DU BURKINA-FASO

Vincent  HENRY

Authors

Vincent HENRY Doctorant en sciences politiques, Université Paris-Est, France; chargé de mission de coopération, Institut Français de Roumanie; ancien directeur de programmes du Bureau Europe Centrale et Orientale de l'Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie. Email: vincent.henry@institutfrancais.ro. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5362-0519

Keywords:

Burkina-Faso, Western Africa, African Policy, Citizen Movements, Democratization process, African youth

Abstract

We attend since a few years almost everywhere in the world the multiplication of public-spirited movements which make a commitment in the political arena. They form themselves and get organized thanks to the new technologies and to a massive use of the social networks. Some of these movements have been able to influence directly the political trajectories of certain countries even by bringing down certain authoritarian regimes. It is the case of the colour revolutions in Eastern Europe, of the Arab Springor most recently and less successfully, of theUmbrella revolution in Hong-Kong. Africa is also concerned by this phenomenon. This article studies ways of functioning and objectives of the public-spirited movements in Western Africa by taking the example of a country in full democratic transition, Burkina Faso.