Most countries of the Sahel were under French rule for almost a century before they emerged from direct colonialism in 1960, only to slip into neocolonial structures persisting today, writes Vijay Prashad.
Every empire falls and the fantasy of American exceptionalism doesn’t exempt the U.S., writes Wilmer J. Leon, III. Yet the failing hegemon behaves as though it still controls events, but instead creates worldwide danger.
Rather than send troops in response to the coup, France and the U.S. seem to favor a “Rwanda” type solution applied in Mozambique, writes Vijay Prashad. Only this time ECOWAS would apply force.
The Economic Community of West African States imposes strict, Western-approved economic measures that have spurred a flurry of military insurrections across the region, writes Alan MacLeod.
France and the U.S. have been blindsided by popular support for Niger’s coup, as the trend towards multipolarity emboldens Africans to confront neo-colonial exploitation, writes M.K. Bhadrakumar.
Each of these coups was led by military officers angered by the presence of French and U.S. troops and by the permanent economic crises inflicted on their countries, write Vijay Prashad and Kambale Musavuli.
Wagner Group soldiers are in Mali, but Vijay Prashad delves into the reasons why they are not the cause of the rift with France.
A decade ago, Nick Turse embarked on a quest to cover what the U.S. military was doing in Africa.
The Sahel coups are against conditions of life afflicting most of the region’s people, writes Vijay Prashad — conditions created by theft of sovereignty by multinationals and the old colonial ruler.
Memories of older forms of colonialism sharpen the way that many Africans view their treatment now, writes Vijay Prashad.