Ambassador Kamissa Camara, professor of practice in international diplomacy at the Ford School, was recently invited to give the inaugural keynote lecture at the prestigious Sciences Po College in Reims, France. At the Ford School, Ambassador Camara teaches the Politics of International Policy and a course on Great Power Rivalry and the International Order.

In her address to incoming first-year students, Camara shared how her journey from student to the youngest-ever Foreign Minister of Mali shaped her understanding and appreciation of power. As a French-Malian woman from a small town in the French Alps, she realized that much of the political theory she studied did not consider identities like hers and instead focused on highlighting the perspectives of the historically powerful.

“[Your] identity shapes what you see, what you question, and what you accept,” said Camara. “That is not a limitation. I think it's actually an asset if only you remain aware.”

Camara also stressed the importance of thoughtfulness and confidence in leadership. She recalled moments at the beginning of her career in international diplomacy, when, amongst the heads of state and prominent public officials who had suddenly become her peers, she felt the need to practice what she called “habits of mind” where “every ounce of diplomacy [has] to be deployed with precision." Instead of caving to her self-doubt, she garnered respect—not through arrogance, but through her ability to read rooms, think critically, and act decisively.

“What I learned very quickly is that holding power is not about feeling ready,” she remarked. “It is about how you think and how you act in the moment.”

Additionally, Camara offered insights on ethical leadership from her research on militarism and military coups in West Africa. A common trait of coup leaders, she noticed, was blind power—leaders who failed to question their own actions and assumed that their course of action was always the right one. She urged incoming Sciences Po students to think carefully, act ethically, and always question themselves as they step into positions of power that shape global affairs.

Camara’s lecture was the first of its kind since the Science Po Reims campus opened in 2010. The Sciences Po Undergraduate College is renowned for its excellence in political science and international studies, and counts many prominent alumni among its graduates. The College is composed of a network of seven campuses, located in Dijon, Le Havre, Menton, Nancy, Paris, Poitiers, and Reims.