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                                        valign="top"> <strong><span
                                            style="font-size:20px"><span
                                              style="color:#ba2025"><span
style="font-family:lato,helvetica neue,helvetica,arial,sans-serif">In
                                                Africa They Say,
                                                ‘France, Get Out!’: The
                                                Nineteenth Newsletter
                                                (2024)</span></span></span></strong>
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style="text-align:center; margin:3em 0;">
                                            <div id="attachment_102127"
class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-102127" decoding="async"
                                                fetchpriority="high"
class="wp-image-102127 size-full img-responsive mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Liby-Ousmane-Lougue-Burkina-Faso-Papa-Roger-2020.jpg"
                                                alt=""
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Liby-Ousmane-Lougue-Burkina-Faso-Papa-Roger-2020.jpg 913w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Liby-Ousmane-Lougue-Burkina-Faso-Papa-Roger-2020-300x300.jpg 300w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Liby-Ousmane-Lougue-Burkina-Faso-Papa-Roger-2020-150x150.jpg 150w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Liby-Ousmane-Lougue-Burkina-Faso-Papa-Roger-2020-768x771.jpg 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 913px) 100vw, 913px"
style="max-width: 100%;width: 100%;padding-bottom: 0;display: inline;vertical-align: bottom;border: 0;height: auto;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;"
                                                moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                width="913" border="0">
                                              <p
id="caption-attachment-102127" class="wp-caption-text"
style="text-align: center;margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><small>Liby
                                                  Ousmane Lougué
                                                  (Burkina Faso), <i>Papa
                                                    Roger</i>, 2020.</small></p>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Dear
                                            friends,</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Greetings
                                            from the desk of <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=cf1cb5bae7&e=d206d0a40d"
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                                              moz-do-not-send="true">Tricontinental:
                                              Institute for Social
                                              Research</a>.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">On
                                            2 October 1958, Guinea
                                            declared its independence
                                            from France. Guinea’s
                                            President Ahmed Sékou Touré
                                            clashed against France’s
                                            President Charles De Gaulle,
                                            who tried to strong arm
                                            Touré into abandoning the
                                            project for independence.
                                            Touré said of De Gaulle’s
                                            threats, ‘Guinea prefers
                                            poverty in freedom to riches
                                            in slavery’. In 1960, the
                                            French government launched a
                                            covert operation called
                                            Operation Persil to
                                            undermine Guinea and
                                            overthrow Touré. The
                                            operation was named after a
                                            laundry detergent, used to
                                            wash away dirt. This
                                            provides a clear window into
                                            the French attitude toward
                                            Touré’s government. France’s
                                            weapons shipment to
                                            opposition groups in Guinea
                                            was interdicted in Senegal,
                                            whose President Mamadou Dia
                                            complained to the French
                                            government. France would not
                                            tolerate African
                                            independence, but the people
                                            of Africa would not tolerate
                                            French dominion.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">That
                                            fervour for African
                                            sovereignty remains intact.
                                            ‘France, get out’ was the
                                            slogan then and remains the
                                            slogan now, from Senegal to
                                            Niger. To better understand
                                            recent developments in this
                                            struggle, the rest of this
                                            newsletter features a
                                            briefing from <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=ce2a04d34e&e=d206d0a40d"
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                                              moz-do-not-send="true">No
                                              Cold War</a> and the <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=05c4a9e71c&e=d206d0a40d"
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                                              moz-do-not-send="true">West
                                              Africa Peoples’
                                              Organisation</a> on the
                                            manifestation of that
                                            sentiment in the Sahel.</p>
                                          <div
class="single-post--content--media-block single-post--content--image"
style="text-align:center; margin:3em 0;">
                                            <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><img
                                                decoding="async"
class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-102270 img-responsive mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Briefing13_Card_EN-e1715210521110.png"
                                                alt=""
style="max-width: 100%;width: 100%;padding-bottom: 0;display: inline;vertical-align: bottom;border: 0;height: auto;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;"
                                                moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                width="840" border="0"></p>
                                          </div>
                                          <h3
style="margin: 2em 0;display: block;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 20px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;">Briefing
                                            13: The Sahel Seeks
                                            Sovereignty.</h3>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">The
                                            call ‘<i>La</i> <i>France
                                              degage!’ </i>(‘France,
                                            get out!’), against the
                                            ongoing legacy of French
                                            colonialism in the region,
                                            has long echoed across West
                                            Africa. In recent years,
                                            this call has reached a new
                                            pitch of intensity, from the
                                            2018 grassroots movements in
                                            Senegal and newly elected
                                            President Bassirou Diomaye
                                            Faye’s campaign promise to <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=436cc0ef08&e=d206d0a40d"
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                                              moz-do-not-send="true">unshackle</a>
                                            his country from the
                                            neocolonial monetary system
                                            of the CFA franc to the
                                            popularly supported <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=0d62526ec1&e=d206d0a40d"
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                                              moz-do-not-send="true">military
                                              coups</a> in Mali, Burkina
                                            Faso, and Niger and the
                                            ejection of French military
                                            forces from these countries
                                            between 2021 and 2023.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">The
                                            military-led governments of
                                            the central Sahelian states
                                            (Mali, Burkina Faso, and
                                            Niger) have taken steps to
                                            wrestle their sovereignty
                                            from Western monopolies –
                                            such as reviewing mining
                                            codes and contracts and
                                            expelling foreign militaries
                                            – and to establish new
                                            regional cooperation
                                            platforms. On 16 September
                                            2023, the governments of
                                            Burkina Faso, Mali, and
                                            Niger signed the <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=bf8b0a057c&e=d206d0a40d"
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                                              moz-do-not-send="true">Liptako-Gourma
                                              Charter</a>, a mutual
                                            defence pact that
                                            established the Alliance of
                                            Sahel States. This
                                            trilateral partnership is a
                                            response to the threats of
                                            military intervention and
                                            economic sanctions that have
                                            been levied against Niger by
                                            the Economic Community of
                                            West African States (ECOWAS)
                                            following the July 2023
                                            popular coup that took place
                                            in the country.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">A
                                            few months after reaching
                                            this defence cooperation
                                            agreement, the three
                                            countries withdrew from the
                                            ECOWAS regional bloc. Some
                                            political commentators have
                                            <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=49536eb3b2&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">claimed</a>
                                            that these events – combined
                                            with the ejection of French
                                            military forces from the
                                            region – ‘spell trouble’ for
                                            regional social security,
                                            economic development,
                                            political stability, and
                                            regional integration. What
                                            is behind the tidal wave
                                            sweeping through the Sahel,
                                            and what does it mean for
                                            the region?</p>
                                          <div
class="single-post--content--media-block single-post--content--image"
style="text-align:center; margin:3em 0;">
                                            <div id="attachment_102148"
class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-102148" decoding="async"
class="wp-image-102148 size-full img-responsive mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Suncrea-Mali-Racines-2016-1.jpg"
                                                alt=""
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Suncrea-Mali-Racines-2016-1.jpg 950w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Suncrea-Mali-Racines-2016-1-300x240.jpg 300w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Suncrea-Mali-Racines-2016-1-768x615.jpg 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px"
style="max-width: 100%;width: 100%;padding-bottom: 0;display: inline;vertical-align: bottom;border: 0;height: auto;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;"
                                                moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                width="950" border="0">
                                              <p
id="caption-attachment-102148" class="wp-caption-text"
style="text-align: center;margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><small>Suncréa
                                                  (Mali), <i>Racines </i>(‘Roots’),
                                                  2016.</small></p>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                          <h3
style="margin: 2em 0;display: block;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 20px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;">The
                                            Legacy of French Colonialism</h3>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Anti-imperialist
                                            sentiment has been brewing
                                            in the Sahel for years. To
                                            look at the case of Niger,
                                            which is emblematic of the
                                            wave of resistance in the
                                            region, during the July 2023
                                            coup, the people took to the
                                            streets against the French
                                            colonial hangover that has
                                            facilitated rampant,
                                            structural corruption and
                                            disenfranchised large
                                            sectors of the population.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Much
                                            of this corruption has taken
                                            place in Niger’s mining
                                            sector, which represents one
                                            of the world’s largest
                                            high-grade uranium deposits.
                                            For instance, in 2014, prior
                                            to the coup, then Nigerien
                                            President Mahamadou Issoufou
                                            lowered taxes on mining
                                            activities that directly <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=4bd34fedea&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">benefited</a>
                                            French monopolies, receiving
                                            indirect pay outs in return.
                                            Meanwhile, the French
                                            military in Niger operated
                                            as the gendarme for mining
                                            companies and against those
                                            seeking to migrate to
                                            Europe.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Société
                                            des Mines de l’Aïr (Somaïr),
                                            a purported ‘joint venture’
                                            between Niger and France in
                                            the uranium industry, is yet
                                            another example of the
                                            continued French influence
                                            in the region and on the
                                            continent. While France’s
                                            Atomic Energy Commission and
                                            two French companies <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=3ef9c4789b&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">own</a>
                                            85% of the company, Niger’s
                                            government owns a mere 15%.
                                            While close to half of
                                            Niger’s population <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=37fc814358&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">lives</a>
                                            below the poverty line and <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=67cb5509e5&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">90%</a>
                                            lives without electricity,
                                            as of 2013 uranium from
                                            Niger <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=ce7edae4ab&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">powers</a>
                                            one in three lightbulbs in
                                            France. It should come as no
                                            surprise that, shortly after
                                            the 2023 coup, Nigerien
                                            citizens seized the French
                                            embassy and military base in
                                            the capital of Niamey.
                                            France withdrew its troops
                                            soon after.</p>
                                          <div
class="single-post--content--media-block single-post--content--image"
style="text-align:center; margin:3em 0;">
                                            <div id="attachment_102169"
class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-102169" decoding="async"
                                                loading="lazy"
class="size-full wp-image-102169 img-responsive mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Amy-Sow-Mauritania-Energie-durable-2015.jpg"
                                                alt=""
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Amy-Sow-Mauritania-Energie-durable-2015.jpg 912w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Amy-Sow-Mauritania-Energie-durable-2015-300x296.jpg 300w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Amy-Sow-Mauritania-Energie-durable-2015-768x758.jpg 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 912px) 100vw, 912px"
style="max-width: 100%;width: 100%;padding-bottom: 0;display: inline;vertical-align: bottom;border: 0;height: auto;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;"
                                                moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                width="912" border="0">
                                              <p
id="caption-attachment-102169" class="wp-caption-text"
style="text-align: center;margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><small>Amy
                                                  Sow (Mauritania), <i>Énergie
                                                    durable </i>(‘Sustainable
                                                  Energy’), 2015.</small></p>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                          <h3
style="margin: 2em 0;display: block;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 20px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;">Sovereignty,
                                            Security, and Terrorism</h3>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">On
                                            16 March 2024, the Nigerien
                                            government revoked a
                                            decade-old military
                                            agreement with the United
                                            States, just two days after
                                            a US delegation met with
                                            local authorities to raise
                                            concerns over the nation’s
                                            partnerships with Russia and
                                            Iran. In a <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=8a36fbfef0&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">public
                                              statement</a>, the
                                            government of Niger
                                            ‘forcefully condemne[d] the
                                            condescending attitude,
                                            accompanied by the threat of
                                            retaliation, from the head
                                            of the US delegation towards
                                            the government and people of
                                            Niger’. The statement added
                                            that ‘Niger regrets the
                                            intention of the US
                                            delegation to deny the
                                            sovereign Nigerien people
                                            the right to choose their
                                            partners and the types of
                                            partnerships that are
                                            capable of truly helping
                                            them fight terrorism at a
                                            time when the United States
                                            of America has unilaterally
                                            decided to suspend all
                                            cooperation’. The government
                                            also cited the following as
                                            reasons for revoking the
                                            agreement with the US: the
                                            cost it has inflicted upon
                                            Nigerien taxpayers, the lack
                                            of communication around
                                            domestic operations and US
                                            military base activities,
                                            unauthorised aircraft
                                            movements, and the
                                            ineffectiveness of its
                                            so-called counter-terrorism
                                            work.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">The
                                            US has established the
                                            single largest foreign
                                            military presence on the
                                            African continent, beginning
                                            with the 2002 Pan-Sahel
                                            Initiative and followed by
                                            the creation of the US
                                            Africa Command (AFRICOM) in
                                            2007, which set up a
                                            significant network of <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=7b638528c1&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">US
                                              military bases</a> across
                                            the Sahel (of which there
                                            are nine in Niger alone as
                                            well as two in Mali and one
                                            in Burkina Faso). In 2007,
                                            US State Department adviser
                                            J. Peter Pham <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=762309c0c0&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">defined</a>
                                            AFRICOM’s strategic
                                            objective to US House of
                                            Representatives Committee on
                                            Foreign Affairs as follows:</p>
                                          <blockquote
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">
                                            <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">It
                                              is unlikely that any
                                              amount of public relations
                                              work will fully quench
                                              anti-imperialist concerns
                                              that AFRICOM is
                                              fundamentally an attempt
                                              to erect a bulwark in
                                              Africa against
                                              trans-national terrorism
                                              and China’s appetite for
                                              Africa’s oil, minerals,
                                              and timber… The proposed
                                              structure of AFRICOM,
                                              consisting of four or five
                                              relatively small bases
                                              with no force deployments,
                                              means that these will be
                                              largely invisible even in
                                              their host countries and
                                              societies.</p>
                                          </blockquote>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">In
                                            the aftermath of the North
                                            Atlantic Treaty
                                            Organisation’s (NATO) war on
                                            Libya led by France and the
                                            US, the Sahel region has
                                            been embroiled in conflicts,
                                            many of them driven by
                                            emerging forms of jihadist
                                            armed activities, piracy,
                                            and smuggling. France and
                                            the US have used these
                                            conflicts as a pretext to
                                            increase their military
                                            interventions across the
                                            region. In 2014, France set
                                            up the G5 Sahel (a military
                                            arrangement that included
                                            Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali,
                                            Mauritania, and Niger) and
                                            expanded or opened new
                                            military bases in Gao,
                                            (Mali), N’Djamena (Chad),
                                            Niamey (Niger), and
                                            Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).
                                            In 2019, the US began <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=83c65300be&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">conducting</a>
                                            drone strikes and aerial
                                            surveillance across the
                                            Sahel and the Sahara Desert
                                            from its Air Base 201
                                            outside Agadez (Niger) – the
                                            largest construction effort
                                            in US Air Force history.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">The
                                            Global Terrorism Index <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=0d219a113e&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">found</a>
                                            that the Sahel region was
                                            the most impacted by
                                            terrorism in 2023,
                                            accounting for nearly half
                                            of all terrorism-related
                                            deaths and 26% of terrorist
                                            incidents worldwide. Burkina
                                            Faso, Mali, and Niger each
                                            ranked among the top ten
                                            countries most impacted by
                                            terrorism, a fact often held
                                            up to allege the failure of
                                            the new military-led
                                            governments. However, this
                                            reality predates the coups
                                            of 2021–2023 and instead
                                            speaks to the impact of US
                                            and French military
                                            intervention. Between 2011
                                            (the year of NATO’s war on
                                            Libya) and 2021 (the year of
                                            the first of the recent wave
                                            of Sahelian coups, in Mali),
                                            Burkina Faso, Mali, and
                                            Niger <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=91d0e3c668&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">soared</a>
                                            from positions 114, 40, and
                                            50, respectively, on the
                                            index of countries most
                                            impacted by terrorism to 4,
                                            7, and 8. It is clear that
                                            the US and French ‘war on
                                            terrorism’ has done little
                                            to improve security in the
                                            region and has in fact had
                                            the opposite effect.</p>
                                          <div
class="single-post--content--media-block single-post--content--image"
style="text-align:center; margin:3em 0;">
                                            <div id="attachment_102179"
class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-102179" decoding="async"
                                                loading="lazy"
class="size-full wp-image-102179 img-responsive mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Niankoye-Lama-Guinea-Place-du-marche-2022.jpg"
                                                alt=""
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Niankoye-Lama-Guinea-Place-du-marche-2022.jpg 930w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Niankoye-Lama-Guinea-Place-du-marche-2022-294x300.jpg 294w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Niankoye-Lama-Guinea-Place-du-marche-2022-768x785.jpg 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 930px) 100vw, 930px"
style="max-width: 100%;width: 100%;padding-bottom: 0;display: inline;vertical-align: bottom;border: 0;height: auto;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;"
                                                moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                width="930" border="0">
                                              <p
id="caption-attachment-102179" class="wp-caption-text"
style="text-align: center;margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><small>Niankoye
                                                  Lama (Guinea), <i>Marché
                                                    de Zali </i>(‘Zali
                                                  Market’), 2022.</small></p>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                          <h3
style="margin: 2em 0;display: block;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 20px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;">Seeking
                                            New Partners and Paths</h3>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">The
                                            people of the Sahel have
                                            grown disillusioned not only
                                            with the West’s military
                                            strategies, as seen by the
                                            increasing security
                                            cooperation agreements with
                                            other countries, but also
                                            with Western economic
                                            policies that have yielded
                                            little social development.
                                            Despite the region’s
                                            abundant energy resources
                                            (including Niger’s
                                            aforementioned uranium
                                            reserves), the Sahel has
                                            some of the world’s lowest
                                            levels of energy generation
                                            and access, with at least <a
href="https://thetricontinental.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=6dc4c3971e&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">51%</a>
                                            of the population unable to
                                            access electricity.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Though
                                            the Alliance of Sahel States
                                            began as a defence pact,
                                            political autonomy and
                                            economic development are a
                                            core focus. This includes,
                                            for instance, pursuing joint
                                            energy projects and
                                            exploring the possibility of
                                            establishing regional civil
                                            nuclear power initiatives.
                                            Burkina Faso has already
                                            signed agreements with
                                            Rosatom, a state-owned
                                            Russian company, to build
                                            new power plants while Mali
                                            is advancing its application
                                            of atomic energy through the
                                            National Nuclear Programme,
                                            overseen by the Malian
                                            Radiation Protection Agency.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Ultimately,
                                            the Alliance of Sahel States
                                            represents an attempt to
                                            uphold the demands of
                                            sovereignty and the right to
                                            self-determination – an
                                            agenda that the people of
                                            Niger, Burkina Faso, and
                                            Mali have poured into the
                                            streets to support.</p>
                                          <div
class="single-post--content--media-block single-post--content--image"
style="text-align:center; margin:3em 0;">
                                            <div id="attachment_102199"
class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-102199" decoding="async"
                                                loading="lazy"
class="wp-image-102199 size-full img-responsive mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ibrahim-Chahamata-Niger-Emity-Na-Zahir-Climate-Change-2015.jpg"
                                                alt=""
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ibrahim-Chahamata-Niger-Emity-Na-Zahir-Climate-Change-2015.jpg 887w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ibrahim-Chahamata-Niger-Emity-Na-Zahir-Climate-Change-2015-298x300.jpg 298w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ibrahim-Chahamata-Niger-Emity-Na-Zahir-Climate-Change-2015-150x150.jpg 150w, https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ibrahim-Chahamata-Niger-Emity-Na-Zahir-Climate-Change-2015-768x774.jpg 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 887px) 100vw, 887px"
style="max-width: 100%;width: 100%;padding-bottom: 0;display: inline;vertical-align: bottom;border: 0;height: auto;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;"
                                                moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                width="887" border="0">
                                              <p
id="caption-attachment-102199" class="wp-caption-text"
style="text-align: center;margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><small>Ibrahim
                                                  Chahamata (Niger), <i>Emity
                                                    Na-Zahir</i>
                                                  (‘Climate Change’),
                                                  2015.</small></p>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Events
                                            in the Sahel are unfolding
                                            at a rapid pace, but as the
                                            Malian novelist Aïcha Fofana
                                            wrote in <i>La fourmilière</i>
                                            (‘The Anthill’) in 2006,
                                            modernisation is tempered by
                                            the rigidities and wisdom of
                                            the old ways. ‘We have
                                            always been generous’, the
                                            griot in <i>La fourmilière
                                            </i>says to a young man who
                                            has many ideas about
                                            transforming society.
                                            Patience is necessary.
                                            Change is coming. But it is
                                            coming at its own pace.</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Warmly,</p>
                                          <p
style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Vijay</p>
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                        Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research ·
                        Shadipur · New Delhi, NCT 110008 · India <br>
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