The question of sovereignty in Africa as a theatrical play

destructive and creative ways of thinking

Abstract

This article proposes the articulation of ideas in the field of International Relations studies in Africa in dialogue with the possibilities of the theater as an experimental field of observation of sociopolitical facts, starting from the opposition between the Afro-centered vision of Grovogui and the western vision of Jackson on the socio-political constructions of states and notions of sovereignty in Africa, based on a historical fact involving the figure of Tierno Bokar, an islamic religious leader of Mali. Starting from this case, I reflect on how the historical figure of the Malian leader was portrayed on the stage by the griot and actor Sotigui Kouyaté, in the spectacle Tierno Bokar, directed by Peter Brook, with actors of multiple nationalities of the Centre International de Recherche Théâtrale (Cirt). Thus, the theater group is analyzed as a laboratory to think international relations in a transversal game involving culture and politics.