Abstract
The interview with Jean-François Bayart focuses on his experience as a member of the Centre d'analyse et de prévision (CAP) of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 2005. It investigates the relationship between research in African studies and French foreign policy at the time of the Rwandan crisis, and the more general development of relationships among researchers, diplomats, politicians and the military in France. It underlines the discrepancy between the representations of the various actors, the very limited influence of academics, and finally the growing marginalization of academic knowledge in both foreign policy and the media.