New contours of public space in Africa

There are several Africas; the continent does not have a single homogeneous reality. Instead we should talk of shifting territorialities. The crucial questions, when thinking about emergent humanisms, have to do with the exegesis of the political, and at its heart democracy, citizenship and the management of violence, which obstinately appears as a constant in the political experience in Africa. It operates as one of the political idioms at the very moment when democracy is becoming essential as a universal, unavoidable reference. The African state seems unable any longer to guarantee its citizens' security. The human body is becoming an integral part of the territories where conflict is occurring. What is being challenged is the sovereignty of the state, which means that the symbolic construction of a people transforming the state into a nation state is no longer possible. So how can we imagine a space for interaction where collective issues are put up for discussion? The case of Cote d'Ivoire, the reform of the Family Code in Senegal, and the tragedy in Rwanda are examined. The author wishes to follow the perspective set out by Wiredu, the principle of compassionate impartiality, the principle on which moral universality is based and built up.