The destructive borders of European self-interest
MIGRATION: At the entrance to the Sahara, Agadez, Niger, reveals the human cost of EU migration policy.
Sahel
The military ambitions of oil states
WEAPONS: There are a number of developments in the three oil states of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, which Jean-Loup Samaan explores in his latest book. These are the three oil states that account for 17 percent of all arms purchases worldwide. Saudi Arabia wants to become a nuclear power in order to stand up to Iran.
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad
AFRICA: In Norway, interest in the Sahel region is increasing. With Gaddafi’s fall in 2011, the strength and number of rebel groups in the region increased. After the start of the global war on terror in 2001, more and more countries have become interested in this vast area. But aren’t the Islamists primarily fighting against the West?
Muslim elites, exercise of power, and terror
AFRICA: What can a book say about Boko Haram or the porous border between present-day Cameroon and present-day Chad? Or about the pre-colonial Kingdom of Kanem-Bornu?
French warriors and Norwegian soldiers in the Sahel
MALI: If anyone in the Norwegian government would have read this book, they would never have sent soldiers to the French military force in Mali.
Democracy in French-speaking Africa
AFRICA: France has strangely managed to preserve hegemony over its former colonies, including the dissemination of knowledge. This book is a much-needed exception, providing the background for understanding the recent coup in Mali.
Crises are good business
AFRICA: A considerable number of consultants and commissioned researchers have profited from the crises in the African belt. Sahel has emerged as a crucial area for not only Norway but also for the EU and the USA.
Elite liberalism + mass nationalism = true
GLOBALISATION: For political scientist Jean François Bayart, globalisation and the development of national identity are complementary processes.
Africa on African terms
AFRICA: It is a paradox that Africa is assessed in relation to Europe rather than being compared to itself and its own values.