Mali – Foreign Policy Reviews

Primum non nocere: Protecting Civilians in UN Peacekeeping Missions

Juba, 20 November 2021: From January-April 2021, UNMISS engineers from Thailand recently repaired the 155-km main supply route linking South Sudan's capital, Juba, to Yei, thereby boosting trade, ensuring communities can convene, connect and have access to necessary services. Photo by Sontaya Noisa-ard/UNMISS/Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/unmissmultimedia/51691424167/

August 19, 2022 Earlier this month, the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) published, “Protecting Civilians While Avoiding Harm: The Implementation of ‘Do No Harm’ by UN Peacekeepers in South Sudan,” which examines the ways in which the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) can do to more to create a better environment forContinue reading “Primum non nocere: Protecting Civilians in UN Peacekeeping Missions”

Multilateral Military Missions in Mali after the Moura Massacre

Visit from 13 to 15 December 2021 by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Chief of MINUSMA, El-Ghassim WANE to the Blue Helmets in Gao, Ansongo, Ménaka, Kidal, Aguelhok and Tessalit to report his support to the staff on the ground after a series of attacks that have been victims./Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/minusma/51751409994/

June 17, 2022 On Monday, the United Nations Security Council held its quarterly briefing on Mali. The briefing comes at a time when, at the end of this month, the mandate for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is up for renewal—just a year after the mission had been previously extended onContinue reading “Multilateral Military Missions in Mali after the Moura Massacre”

Demography as Destiny in the Sahel?

Source: https://www.fao.org/emergencies/crisis/sahel/en/

March 18, 2022 Twenty years ago, authors John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira wrote a book that would, for a few years at least, become highly influential in Democratic political circles and thinking. Their work, The Emerging Democratic Majority, posited, “that Democrats should take advantage of a set of interrelated social, economic, and demographic changes…”Continue reading “Demography as Destiny in the Sahel?”

Foreign Policy Links for the Week Ending 3/7/2022

French and Chad military participate in a flag ceremony to commemorate the launch of Operation Barkhane. Operation Barkhane is an anti-terrorist operation in Africa's Sahel region beginning in July 2014. It consists of a 3,000-strong French force, which will be permanent and headquartered in N’Djamena, Chad. The operation has been designed with five countries, and former French colonies, that span the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. (U.S. Army Africa photos by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Martin S. Bonner)

March 4, 2022 Author’s Note: Due to some out-of-state travel this week, today’s post will not be the usual analysis of a timely topic; though normal service will resume next week. Instead, due to time constraints, I thought that I would take the chance to look at some of the articles, commentaries, and papers thatContinue reading “Foreign Policy Links for the Week Ending 3/7/2022”

Improving U.S. Institutional Capacity Building in Africa

U.S. Army soldiers from U.S. Army Africa’s Security Forces Assistance Brigade (SFAB) watch as members of the Djiboutian Bataillon d’Intervention Rapide (BIR) fire at targets Oct. 28, 2020, at an undisclosed location in Djibouti. The SFAB has progressively increased the BIR’s proficiency in squad and platoon level tactics through situational training and live-fire exercises. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Peter Thompson)

January 28, 2022 Earlier this month, the RAND Corporation released a report, “Competition and Governance in African Security Sectors: Integrating U.S. Strategic Objectives,” by Stephen Watts, Alexander Noyes, and Gabrielle Tarini, which examines the potential for improving U.S. security sector assistance (SSA) programs to its African partners—specifically in terms of improving U.S. institutional capacity buildingContinue reading “Improving U.S. Institutional Capacity Building in Africa”

Conditionality and Civil Society: Refactoring U.S. Security Sector Assistance in Fragile Countries

U.S. Army Soldiers from the 3rd Special Forces Group out of Fort Bragg, N.C., help inspect Malian army soldier's weapons at their garrison in Tombouctou, Mali, Sept. 4, 2007, during exercise Flintlock 2007. The exercise, which is meant to foster relationships of peace, security and cooperation among the Trans-Sahara nations, is part of the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership. The TSCTP is an integrated, multi-agency effort of the U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Defense Department. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Ken Bergmann)

November 5, 2021 Late last week, the United States Institute of Peace published an article by Kadiatou Keita and Emily Cole. The article, “How to Respond to a ‘Year of Coups?’ We Can Try in Mali.” examines how U.S. security assistance in Africa has not only failed to create regional stability, but has actually fueledContinue reading “Conditionality and Civil Society: Refactoring U.S. Security Sector Assistance in Fragile Countries”

Entering Into Negotiations with Non-State Armed Groups: The Case for Engagement

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ansar_Dine_Rebels_-_VOA.jpg

August 6, 2021 Recently, the Atlantic Council published an essay, “Empower Syrians Not Warlords: Against the re-branding of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham”, by Dr. Rahaf Aldoughli and Dr. Azzam Al Kassir, two Syrian researchers based in London, which argues against reversing the designation of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS) as a terrorist group. The authors feelContinue reading “Entering Into Negotiations with Non-State Armed Groups: The Case for Engagement”

A People-First US Assistance Strategy for the Middle East…and Beyond

June 25, 2021 On June 10, Ilan Goldenberg, Daphne McCurdy, Kaleigh Thomas, and Sydney Scarlata at the Center for a New American Security published the report, “A People-First U.S. Assistance Strategy for the Middle East”, which strongly advocates a rebalancing of the U.S. assistance mix to the region away from a focus on security assistanceContinue reading “A People-First US Assistance Strategy for the Middle East…and Beyond”

A Dangerous Double Standard: Chad, Mali, and Troubling International (In)Action

June 4, 2021 On May 24, Colonel Assimi Goïta ordered the arrests of Malian President Bah N’daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, who both subsequently resigned while in prison. On Sunday, Mali’s constitutional court declared Goita to be the country’s interim president. These shocking events, coming only months after the previous government of Ibrahim BoubacarContinue reading “A Dangerous Double Standard: Chad, Mali, and Troubling International (In)Action”