Mali's Struggle: From Turmoil to Democracy

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Introduction Mali, a landlocked country in Northwest Africa, is currently one of the poorest countries in the world. In the 1990’s, Mali’s fortune was looking up as the country had rapid economic growth and a democracy that flourished along with social stability. The state had control of the north and a military coup that ousted the president due to his failure to protect the soldiers. Soldiers returning from Libya who had equipped themselves with weapons from Libya’s armories started the coup. Soldiers were tired of being under-equipped to fight the Tuaregs (NOSSITER). The French intervened with military action against the Islamic fighters threatening to advance to the south. Civilian rule was re-established in 2013 (Brice, Mali country profile - Overview). The Tauregs a nomadic group that makes up over half of the citizens living in the north had been fighting for their own land called Azwad. The Tuaregs broke the truce and resumed fighting a year later. Mali suffered from rebellions, drought, and 23 years of military rule until 1992. Mali in general is a very barren country (Review). Mali owes its livelihood to the Niger River and can sustain itself by growing its own crops due to the fertile basin. Growing cotton is one of the country’s biggest exports. With a foreign trade deficit, Mali still does not have the ability to sustain itself. It still receives foreign aid and many of its citizens work abroad (Review). French and African forces intervened in Mali to prevent the Tuaregs from claiming more territory in January 11, 2013. More than 500 French air and ground forces pushed the insurgents back. The French Special Forces liberated the city of Kona hours after they hit the ground on February 15, 2013 (Group). France promi... ... middle of paper ... ...n defense and security forces” in July 2013 (United Nations). Mali will become more involved in world matters since establishing their democracy. Mali will assist in the UN peacekeeping mission in other parts of Africa. Their economy will improve for their citizens causing them not to depend on aid from outside organizations. Mali will be a key player in the African continent in its role against terrorist groups (USAID)’ (Marquardt). A close relationship between the U.S. and Mali will give the U.S. the ability to gather intelligence on Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in the region and globally. With the intelligence, we gather in the region, we can target the terrorist groups located not only in Mali, but also in Africa and the rest of the world (Wadossene). We can use it to protect U.S. interests around the world as well as protecting its citizens (Banco)’ (Marquardt).

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