-
Recent Posts
Archives
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- November 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- December 2018
- July 2018
- August 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- September 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- November 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- October 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
Meta
Follow me on Twitter
My Tweets
Tag Archives: politics
Mali’s proposed constitutional reform: mal-intentioned, or merely inept?
This post was written by A. Karim Sylla of the MaliLink Investigative Reporting Group. 17 June saw what may have been the largest protest march ever held in Bamako. Many tens of thousands of people–organizers claimed it was in the … Continue reading
How did Mali get here? (Part 5: Institutional explanations)
In this final installment of the series we consider the role of Mali’s political institutions in generating the wave of instability and political violence that has engulfed the country since 2012. Institutionalist analysis ascribes a country’s success–or lack thereof–to the … Continue reading
How did Mali get here? (Part 4: Geopolitical explanations)
In seeking to understand the long-term sources of instability in Mali, analytical perspectives centered on geopolitics emphasize competition among states, including the Malian government, its Sahelian neighbors, and extra-regional players, in shaping events there. These perspectives pit the Malian state’s … Continue reading
How did Mali get here? (Part 2: From military rule to multiparty politics)
Introduction: This post is the second in a series reviewing Mali’s modern history and present trajectory. Subsequent posts will survey the distinct but overlapping analyses of Mali’s postcolonial development. As I work to improve my draft for publication, I invite … Continue reading
How did Mali get here? (Part 1: Echoes of decolonization)
Introduction: Recently I’ve been drafting a brief overview of Mali’s modern history and present trajectory. The aim is to excavate the long-term political, economic, and historical underpinnings of Mali’s ongoing instability. This post is the first in a series on … Continue reading
Africa comes to Washington
English novelist David Lodge once observed that professional conferences have become a modern form of pilgrimage. Much like medieval pilgrims, he wrote, conference-goers today “indulge themselves in all the pleasures and diversions of travel while appearing to be austerely bent … Continue reading
Is Mali heading back to the abyss?
July was a bad month for Mali. On the 12th, government security forces fired on unarmed demonstrators in Gao, killing three. The protestors were denouncing the establishment of interim local authorities–a provision of the peace accord signed in June 2015, … Continue reading
Getting a read on Serval
From January 2013 through July 2014, the French military carried out on Malian territory a vast intervention codenamed Opération Serval. It has been reputed to be the largest unilateral overseas deployment of France’s armed forces since the Algerian war ended … Continue reading
Uncomfortable truths about Mali
Some may recall a candid speech from a French diplomat in July 2012 about Mali and its neighbors. It was delivered by Laurent Bigot, then France’s top diplomat for West Africa. Bigot’s candor got him fired, but earned him a … Continue reading
Who wants peace in Mali?
“We should not be misled by talk of entering a time of peace. Peace is not the absence of war; it is the absence of the rumors of war, the threats of war, the preparations for war….” – Gil Scott … Continue reading