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Mali

Civil-Military Relations
commentary
Are Military Coups Back in Style in Africa?
Sean M. Zeigler
Dec 1, 2021
Political Violence @ A Glance
There have been five coups in sub-Saharan Africa since August 2020. On a continent that was recently lauded for its democratic advancement, this backsliding suggests the military coup may be dangerously back in fashion. Why are more coups happening now?
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Mali
commentary
Why the UK May Be Sending Troops to Mali
Michael Shurkin
Mar 16, 2020
Wavell Room
The UK government's decision to deploy an additional 250 soldiers to join the United Nations mission in Mali might be in Britain's security interests. Such deployments display the UK's commitment to international security and may well form a critical part of its post-BREXIT diplomacy.
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Mali
commentary
Mali Violence Shows Limits of Intervention
Michael Shurkin
Nov 22, 2019
RealClearDefense
Each year brings more violence to Mali and its neighbors. Mali and Burkina Faso are rapidly destabilizing; the situation in Niger is less dire, but that is hardly a commendation. Why is the violence in Mali getting worse given the significant efforts by the international community to stem it?
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Counterinsurgency
commentary
Mali Is France's Afghanistan, but with a Difference
Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Michael Shurkin
Dec 1, 2017
War on the Rocks
At first glance the comparison between the French military operations in Mali and America’s involvement in Afghanistan is compelling, and in some important ways, accurate. It also presents some fundamental differences that give reason for optimism in France.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
What Is the Sahel G5 Force and Why Should the U.S. Support It?
Michael Shurkin
Nov 6, 2017
The Hill
The French Joint Force G-5 Sahel plan offers the possibility of strengthening the Sahel nations' efforts to combat terrorism. Supporting the French initiative is a worthy undertaking, provided, of course, that everyone understands what it is and is not.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
Sahel Governments Need More Security Assistance
Michael Shurkin
Sep 14, 2017
The Cipher Brief
Developments in the Sahel are cause for alarm. Despite the presence of an active French counterterrorism force and a UN peacekeeping mission, al Qaeda groups are thriving. The region would benefit from approaches that combine police and military operations with economic development and improved governance.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
The U.S.-France Dustup Over Counterterrorism in the Sahel
Michael Shurkin
Jun 23, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
It's time for Paris and Washington to get together with the G5 nations of the Sahel and draft a strategy for achieving shared objectives. The French cannot do it alone or even with the support of the G5 nations. The U.S. would be penny wise but pound foolish to stay aloof or even just uphold the status quo.
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Mali
commentary
What Mali Really Needs
Michael Shurkin
Jan 23, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
Mali needs more international engagement, as well as serious pressure on the Malian state to strengthen its hold on the country. The key will be helping beyond just security force assistance and conventional economic development aid; Mali needs help governing.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
Mali's Persistent Jihadist Problem
Christopher S. Chivvis
Jan 12, 2017
The Cipher Brief
The 2013 French intervention in Mali averted an al Qaeda-backed thrust toward the capital of Bamako and reduced the threat from other jihadist groups. To ensure that a new threat does not materialize, France will need staying power and support from its allies.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Emergencies: France, Mali, and Turkey Are Playing with Fire
Michael Shurkin
Aug 15, 2016
Breaking Defense
The leaders of France, Mali, and Turkey have declared formal states of emergency. France's Hollande and Mali's Keïta, while responding to real threats, are risking democracy. Erdogan appears to be targeting democracy and using Turkey's recent failed coup as a pretext.
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Military Strategy
commentary
The French Way of War
Michael Shurkin
Nov 17, 2015
Politico
There is a French way of warfare that reflects the French military's lack of resources and its modest sense of what it can achieve. They specialize in carefully apportioned and usually small but lethal operations, often behind the scenes.
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Terrorist Organizations
commentary
How to Defeat a New Boko Haram in Mali
Michael Shurkin
Sep 8, 2015
Newsweek
While there is a need for stepped up military and police efforts against the self-proclaimed Macina Liberation Front, Mali's policymakers and their international partners need to focus on countering revivalist Islam, ideally by promoting Mali's other Islamic traditions, while finding ways to calm the inter-communal competition.
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Maternal Health
commentary
Family Planning Must Be Part of the Humanitarian Response in Africa's Conflict Zones
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Jul 1, 2015
The RAND Blog
Worldwide, nearly 800 women die every day due to mostly preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. More than half of these deaths occur in fragile states torn by armed conflict and generalized violence.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
Help Malians Fight Back
Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Michael Shurkin
Mar 13, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
The March 7 terrorist attack that killed five people in a nightclub in Bamako, Mali, underscores the importance of international support for the West African country, which has become another front in the struggle against Islamist radicalism.
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Mali
commentary
Mali's Peace Accord Offers Little More Than an Opportunity
Michael Shurkin
Mar 11, 2015
The RAND Blog
The good news is that Mali's latest attempt at peace presents a real opportunity. The bad news is that all the reasons that previous agreements failed are still present.
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France
commentary
Does France Have the Master Plan to Defeat ISIS?
Christopher S. Chivvis
Sep 24, 2014
The National Interest
In Mali, France stopped jihadists from taking over, ejected them from the country almost entirely, and struck a major blow to their ability to threaten France and the region. This success story provides important lessons for the U.S. debate about how to deal with ISIS.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
France Gets Tougher on Terrorism
Michael Shurkin
Jul 29, 2014
U.S. News & World Report
The launch of Barkhane, a new military operation by France, signals a change. Rather than simply reacting to an emergency as it did in Mali, France is committing to a long-term counterterrorism campaign, a much greater and more public commitment. This is welcome news for the United States.
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization
commentary
NATO Needs a Southern Strategy
F. Stephen Larrabee, Peter A. Wilson
Feb 26, 2014
Epoch Times
If NATO wants to avoid strategic irrelevance, it needs to give increasing attention to the threats from the Middle East and North Africa region. A southern strategy should draw on recent experience, such as NATO's intervention in Libya and the successful operation in Mali.
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Mali
commentary
Remembering What Mali Needs
Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Michael Shurkin
Jul 26, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
Free and fair elections are important, to be sure, but what Mali really needs is a leader who is dedicated to democracy, unity and reform of Mali's politics and institutions, write Stephanie Pezard and Michael Shurkin.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
What Does the Amenas Attack Mean for U.S. Policy in Africa?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jan 31, 2013
The RAND Blog
Coinciding with continuing, contentious hearings on the U.S. response to last September's terrorist attack in Benghazi, the attack on the Amenas natural gas facility in Algeria has elevated a more general debate about the war on terrorism and U.S. policy in Africa, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
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Algeria
commentary
The Motivations Behind the Amenas Terrorist Attack
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jan 29, 2013
The RAND Blog
An attack of this complexity would have required months of reconnaissance, planning, recruiting of inside confederates, and training of participants. France's intervention in Mali was used to “justify” an attack that would likely have taken place anyway, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
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Mali
commentary
Foreign Intervention in Mali Is Libya in Reverse
Christopher S. Chivvis
Jan 25, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
France is in Mali not just to prop up a failing state in French Africa, but because Mali was becoming a magnet for jihadis from around the world and Paris rightly feared the country could become the next Afghanistan—only much closer to Europe, writes Christopher Chivvis.
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Terrorism Threat Assessment
q&a
The al Qaeda Threat in North Africa
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins, Michael Shurkin, William Young, Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Seth G. Jones
Jan 24, 2013
Last week's terrorist attack at the In Amenas gas complex in Algeria, along with the recent success of the militant groups fighting government forces in Mali, indicate al Qaeda and other terrorist groups are gaining influence in North Africa. RAND experts weigh in on the latest developments.
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Algeria
commentary
Hostage Taking Exposes Terror Threat in Africa
Michael Shurkin
Jan 18, 2013
USA Today
There is a danger in viewing Mali through the prism of counter-terrorism, since the rebel element there is tangled up in movements and groups with a wide variety of interests and motives, ranging from sincere religious conviction to local political rivalries to base economic opportunism, writes Michael Shurkin.
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France
commentary
The French Intervention in Mali Is Necessary, but Risky
Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Michael Shurkin
Jan 17, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
No solution is likely to offer more than a short-term reprise if it is not accompanied by real progress toward resolving Mali's political crisis and strengthening the Malian state and Malian democracy, write Stephanie Pezard and Michael Shurkin.
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France
commentary
France Needs More Than Force in Mali
Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Michael Shurkin
Jan 17, 2013
CNN
France should coordinate military action with efforts to engage with local factions to use as partners and proxies, write Stephanie Pezard and Michael Shurkin. This is, in effect, how France conquered and secured northern Mali in the first place a century ago.
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Mali
blog
Unrest in Mali Leaves Opening for Radicalism
Dec 6, 2012
African leaders meeting in Paris on Wednesday reportedly agreed that an African-led operation is needed to keep the western part of the continent, including Mali, from becoming overtaken by terrorists, including al Qaeda affiliates.
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