Burkina Faso: Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s New Sanctuary

by Giorgio Cafiero and Daniel Wagner For many years, violent extremists have exploited the impoverished and lawless Sahel region of Africa. Salafist-jihadist militias have frequently transited through the region’s porous borders, easily taking advantage of local grievances to establish a… Continue Reading

Burkina Faso’s Alarming Escalation of Jihadist Violence

by Rinaldo Depagne Attacks on the Burkina Faso army headquarters and the French Embassy on 2 March 2018 were better organized, involved heavier weapons and were more sustained than anything seen so far in Burkina Faso. In this Q&A, our West Africa… Continue Reading

Failed States and States of Failure

by Tom Engelhardt One of the charms of the future is its powerful element of unpredictability, its ability to ambush us in lovely ways or bite us unexpectedly in the ass. Most of the futures I imagined as a boy… Continue Reading

U.S. Military Aid to Presidential Guards a Risky Venture

by Alexis Kedo and Colby Goodman “We have seen what has happened, that the people were not in favor of it [coup d’état]. That is why we gave it up.” This was Gen. Gilbert Diendéré’s ad-libbed apology for the coup… Continue Reading