What about the political characteristics of the OIF?

According to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie itself, the main objectives that the organization was founded upon are the following: 

- Promoting the French language and linguistic and cultural diversity. 
- Promoting peace, democracy, and Human Rights.
- Supporting education, teaching and research.
- Developing economic cooperation to ensure long-term development. 

Therefore, despite being founded on a language as a common characteristic, the organization clearly follows the characteristics of a political entity. The organization is currently organized as follows: there is a role of a secretary general who acts as the official representative of the organization, nowadays held by Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo. The guidelines for cooperation and the objectives and strategies that the organization will follow are decided every two years in an event known as the Francophonie Summit, which brings together the heads of State and Government of all member nations. To oversee the implementation of these strategies and ensure their continuity, foreign ministers of member states also meet annually during Ministerial Conferences. Under the authority of the Ministerial Conference, another entity is in charge of coordinating Summits, the Permanent Council of la Francophonie, chaired by the secretary general who is the legal representative of the organization as well. Within the OIF, decisions are adopted through consensus, which entails a majority of nine tenths of votes in favour or against, out of all members present and voting.

Despite its seemingly positive and constructive goals and actions, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie has sparked opposition and diversity of opinions both in France and in African countries, where most of the francophone population is concentrated. There is a clear difference between the role of France and the rest of nations that are part of the organization when it comes to influence, contribution, and power. In fact, France itself recognizes this disparity. According to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France “works actively to develop la Francophonie ” by being its leading contributor, and in order to “ensure French remains an international language.” Part of the controversy that the organization sparked in its former colonies is due to it being considered by many as a political instrument by the French nation to maintain its influence over these nations. On one hand, there is an ensemble of undeniable assets that francophonie has brought to all members. To begin with, the French language has allowed for many nations of plurilingual nature to be able to communicate in a common language that facilitates bilateral and multilateral cooperation. In addition to that, North-South exchanges promoted by la francophonie benefit all nations in terms of economic growth and trade. Not to mention the proliferation of educational aid, scholarships, and research funding that France has invested in the African continents following the objectives of the OIF. Moreover, thanks to the promotion efforts implemented by cultural structures put into action by francophonie responsables, African issues have gained visibility across the globe. 
In particular, the media world has greatly benefited from la francophonie thanks to the emergence of French media platforms such as TV5Monde, France 24, Radio France Internationale, and others who actively fight for access to information in Africa. 
Nevertheless, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie is accused of doing more politics than anything else. The organization is criticized for being a framework through which France actively attempts to reestablish the influence lost after the colonies gained independence, which is evidentiated by the fact that it is the number one contributor of the OIF, making other nations dependent. Moreover, others argue that while the promotion of the French language has benefits in the field of education, it jeopardizes the survival of african native languages. In addition to a disparity in terms of leadership and decision making power, we should highlight that there is a wide diversity of cases in terms of democracy as well. Within the OIF we find consolidated democracies that occupy positions in the top thirty most democratic countries of the world, it is the case of Luxembourg, Canada, and France. Others such as the Democratic Republic of Congo occupy the last positions in the same list while being witnesses to some of the largest numbers of human rights violations as well. 


References: 

- Bock-Côté, M. (2019) Les nationalistes et le vote francophone in Le Journal de Montréal JDM,  19 octobre. Retrieved: 8 November, 2019.
- Deutsche Welle Actualité Internationale. OIF, quel rôle politique en Afrique?, October 11, 2018. Retrieved 9 November, 2019. Available: https://www.dw.com/fr/oif-quel-r%C3%B4le-politique-en-afrique/a-45850247
- The Economist Intelligence Unit. EIU Democracy Index, 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2019. Available: http://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index
- France Diplomatie. Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères (2019) Francophonie, an area of multilateral cooperation. [online] Retrieved, 5 november, 2019. Available: 
- Francophonie. Un instrument politique au service de la France (2010) Courrier international, 25 Mars 2010. Retrieved 11 november, 2019. Available:
- Heller, M. (1999) Alternative ideologies of la francophonie in Journal of Sociolinguistics 3(3), p. 336-359. 
-International Democracy Watch.org. Retrieved 8 November, 2019. Available: http://www.internationaldemocracywatch.org/index.php
- Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. La Francophonie en bref. OIF Official Website, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019. Available: https://www.francophonie.org/la-francophonie-en-bref-754 




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