When things fall apart – France’s withdrawal from Mali
The French President’s announcement on Thursday morning that French and European troops would withdraw from Mali came as no surprise to observers of the unfolding diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The relations have deteriorated gradually over the past few years, starting well before the first of two successive coups in Mali, yet the speed has increased considerably during the past four weeks. The Malian transitional authorities’ show of force whereby they publicly prohibited the Danish contingent from integrating into Taskforce Takuba resulted in a very undiplomatic, war of words, which took an abrupt turn as the French Ambassador was expelled from Mali. While this diplomatic show-down took place, the region witnessed yet another military coup – this time in Burkina Faso – a state which has suffered 7 coups and 4 coup attempts since independence, underlining the heavily tilted civil-military balance in the region and the fact that stability – however it is defined – is far from being achieved.