This chapter seeks to challenge traditional conceptions of African governance. Its starting point is the study of the making of African governance norms. It discusses the issues involved in recognizing locally produced norms of governance in strengthening African agency. African agency at the international level is based first on a perception and then on its driving forces. Revisiting these perceptions and representations therefore constitutes a real challenge. This paper presents a mapping of the political actors or institutions of continental governance. It describes the main political norms held by these actors and the way in which they have been constructed. Finally, it attempts to identify where these norms come from and how they are valued or devalued internationally, in order to show how this affects the representation of Africa and its agency. Overall, it provides a starting point for further reflection in the chapters that follow.