Post-coloniality and path dependency: Challenges at stake in media and communication research in francophone Africa

Abstract

In this chapter, we demonstrate the challenges inherent in the process of truly overcoming coloniality in Francophone Africa. As we analyze the progressive institutionalization of the field through the creation of journalism schools and training centers, research networks and academic journals, we try to identify the constraints in which scientific knowledge is produced and disseminated. We conclude that Francophone research is not only still impacted by strong ties with the former French and Belgian colonizers but also experiencing difficulties to connect to the research activity that is densifying in Anglophone Africa. Therefore, we suggest that the path-dependency approach can help to understand the current situation of media and communication research in that part of Africa.