Burkina Faso coup: another example of the West’s military-first failures
The situation in the Sahel lurches from bad to worse and everyone loses except for the narrow ruling cliques that hold top offices.
The situation in the Sahel lurches from bad to worse and everyone loses except for the narrow ruling cliques that hold top offices.
The administration hasn’t learned from past mistakes, is overly focused on great power competition, and can’t quit the counterterror lens.
As caretaker governments become semi-permanent, Washington must work diplomatically toward quicker transitions to civilian rule.
We know that counterterrorism programs are not helping, but some of the non-military plans long abandoned by the US could work.
Responses suggest that Beijing’s investments are having a positive impact on perception.
Apparent recognition by Prime Minister Abiy that his forces cannot defeat the Tigrayans is moving the parties toward the negotiating table.
From the ‘with us or against us’ frame to the disproportionate fallout of the commodities crisis, these countries are non-aligned for a reason.
Washington’s $2 billion counterterrorism program was supposed to enhance security, but it’s had the opposite effect.
The US is reportedly redeploying troops with AFRICOM receiving a green light on drone strikes.
The world is watching as Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan suffer from systemic spoilers — and it’s getting worse everyday.
But a potential opening to resolve local conflicts in Burkina Faso could provide a model to turn US security assistance on its head.
If the US wants more regional influence, it can press for reform on corruption, human rights, and political transparency.
AFRICOM says it promotes human rights and rule of law but doesn’t know why trainees are overthrowing their own governments.
The idea that the international order is stronger than ever is not shared by those often on the receiving end of its coercive tactics.
Kenya’s UN Ambassador went viral for chastising Moscow’s Ukraine invasion, but the principles of international law are crumbling on his own continent too.
The West’s counterterrorism project will likely continue throughout the Sahel, despite a lack of reflection on Paris’s part.
Confronting Beijing on the continent is popular in Washington but the US would do well to recognize that the Chinese are there to stay.
He is playing an intricate game to ensure that at the end of the day the military coup will be a “fait accompli.”
A rash of government overthrows in the Sahel illustrates the danger of prioritizing counterterrorism while ignoring obvious warning signs.
Regardless of what happens in Tigray, without the help of international financial institutions, the foundation of the state will come apart.
Just because Biden is trying to patch things up with Macron doesn’t mean he should continue to fuel a dead-end policy.