Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Dr. Douglas Yates, Author, Political Scientist and Professor and at the American Graduate School of International Relations and Diplomacy. President Emmanuel Macron is co-hosting the Africa Forward Summit alongside Kenyan President William Ruto. entering what Dr. Yates describes as “a demarcation point.” After years of mounting hostility in West Africa, military ruptures in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and the growing presence of Russia and China across the continent, Paris is seeking to redefine its place beyond the historic confines of Françafrique.