Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are charting a new course—one of increased economic and security sovereignty

Over the past few years, numerous West African states have taken steps toward greater economic and security sovereignty, often in opposition to Western (specifically French) designs on the region.

The anti-imperialist reforms have taken place under unelected military governments which, unusual to many Westerners, enjoy far greater public support than the ostensibly democratic governments they overthrew. This is because the preceding governments, often backed by the West, were only democratic in rhetoric; most people in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger viewed these “democratic” states as in fact anti-democratic, corrupt, and ineffectual against the threat of jihadist insurgency.

As I have documented in these pages, there has been a string of successful military coups in West Africa in recent years: in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Gabon. The coups have occurred in the context of deteriorating security situations, which the Western policy of backing jihadist forces in Libya did much to enflame.

Western-led military operations like France’s Operation Barkhane (2014-2022), the European Union’s Takuba Task Force (2020-2022), and the UN’s MINUSMA in Mali (2013-2023) did little to alleviate the security threats. Consequently, the militaries in various West African countries became disillusioned with the US and Europe as security partners.

In August 2020, a military coup led by Colonel Assimi Goïta successfully seized power in Mali. The junta has asserted its sovereignty in numerous ways, including by leaving the European-funded G5 Sahel organization and booting out French forces.