Prénom de l'expert

Clélie

Nom de l'expert

NALLET

The category ‘middle class’ was used increasingly throughout the 2010s to identify social changes occurring in African countries, including Ethiopia. However, the category itself is hard to define and has been employed to describe very diverse socio-economic dynamics.

Since 2011 and the end of the post-election crisis, Côte d’Ivoire has returned to impressive economic growth. The country and its capital are drawing attention from a growing number of investors, and the “Abidjanian middle classes” are widely publicised and sought after. 

For many observers, a change in perception of the African continent occurred in the 2010s. Attention has focused on the relatively high rates of economic growth and a high population growth associated with urban expansion; both indicators interpreted as promises of economic “emergence” leading to potential new markets.

More than three years have already passed since China’s new silk roads were launched by President Xi Jinping. When he first mentioned the idea in an autumn 2013 speech in Kazakhstan, questions quickly emerged on the meaning of this general concept, which soon became widely promoted through a large-scale and well-coordinated public diplomacy strategy both in and outside China.

The international viewpoint on the African continent has profoundly changed in the last decade. Images advertised by the media drifted from afro-pessimism - the sad fate of Africa (wars and poverty) - to afro-optimism - a brighter future for the continent.