Mali, France, and Russia – The Continued Underdevelopment of the ‘Global South’ – Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

By Otobong Inieke – Mar28, 2022

Much like any other country with geopolitical clout, Moscow is also known to make plays that bolster their interest in Africa. Bilateral economic agreements and security arrangements as well as everyday information campaigns serve to develop soft power influence. A prime example would be the 2017 defense agreements between the Central African Republic (CAR) and Moscow in combination with the Miss Central African beauty contest in 2018 as reported by the Africa Report, here the Russian government employed other means to establish diplomatic rapport with African countries obviously as a means to fulfill political ambitions. In considering Russian relationships with African countries, on one hand, Moscow is not exempt from capitalist practices on the continent as is the nature of geopolitical ‘great game’, on the other hand, African countries such as CAR, Mali, or Mozambique all seek alternatives to the strictly Euro/American engagements that do not yield mutually beneficial outcomes. These countries also seek new angles that don’t end with more IMF/WB debt challenges or recycled development frameworks that were not designed for the African context.

Observers and analysts cannot rely on mainstream English media sources for balanced or objective perspectives on the nature of relationships between Russia and countries like Mali. It is widely known that the Cold War rivalry between the United States and Russia has influenced much of the coverage of Russian activities around the world, from the unsubstantiated #russiagate debacle to the hypocritical calls against Russian military presence in parts of the world. An instance is the alarmist nature in which Russian activity is covered with focus on the promotion of ‘manipulation networks’ and ‘pro-Russian internet propaganda campaigns’ which is frankly unsettling to the balanced observer, in that one simply needs to ask, what country would promote information campaigns against its own interests?

Using historical legacies, Russia and China bring perspectives that are wrapped in decolonial narratives as alternatives to what Euro/American powers have to offer, and it must be appreciated that this reality is a threat to Western European and US diplomatic hegemony on the continent, with Mali as case in point. This also brings focus to the wave of anti-Russian alarmist pieces that mainly serve to put France in the light of benign benevolence – a well-meaning country that simply wants to share growth and innovation with its African contemporaries as opposed to a failing imperial entity struggling desperately to hold on to the remnants of its empire that was built on violence, injustice, capitalism, and free labor.

The French Factor
France in many ways considers western Africa as its ‘backyard’ much like the US govt sees Southern America as its own. African countries taking autonomous decisions are a threat to that hegemony and worse so if the sought-after alternative is a powerful geopolitical rival like Russia or China. Again, this is a situation where decisions taken by admittedly weaker governments are always labeled by the western media as influenced by Russia or China. The great Indian farmers protests were labeled by mainstream Euro/American media as agitations sponsored by China, socialist struggles throughout southern America are denounced by imperialist mouth pieces as being supported by the appropriate enemy of the day. Not much attention is paid to the realities that more and more governments of the so-called third world are seeking real change in whatever way they can get it. The decision of France to withdraw its military units seems like another Washington-type neocolonial disciplinary move, whereby uncooperative governments are threatened with withdrawal of resources as a reminder of where conditions may deteriorate to if acceptable sociopolitical conditions are not restored. The Eastern Herald reports that the CAR scenario is repeating itself in Mali vis-à-vis the loss of French influence in favor of Russian security activities. Paris is also demonstrating spite and poor diplomacy through its media’s petty accusations against the Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara for entering negotiations to bring approximately 1,000 personnel from the private military contractor Wagner, according to the Eastern Herald.

It is also important to note that the French government has been having a PR nightmare vis-à-vis the popular opposition to its presence in Mali, as expressed in the cheers and processions following the recent coups in the country against leaders considered puppets by the citizenry and military alike. As expected, France did not delay in expressing disapproval and calling for return to ‘normalcy’ as it is confronted with the reality of losing regional or even localized influence to Russia. On the same matter, the German defense minister warned on twitter (which is where life changing diplomacy now apparently takes place) that “if the Malian government signs such agreements with Russia, it contradicts everything that Germany, France and the European Union and the United Nation did in Mali eight years ago”. It then begs to ask that If Russia is such a bane to world activities, how is it still on the UNSC, also if a single security agreement is such a threat to eight years of action by such powerful entities, that is more of an indictment on the efficacy or usefulness of the entities as opposed to a dangerous choice by a government desperately seeking alternatives.

Conclusions
A country (Mali) seeking alternatives to solving security issues cannot be expected to remain defenseless in the face of France’s decision to draw down its ‘anti-terror’ troops. According to news by France24, the Russian Foreign Minister rightly pointed out that the Malian government was acting on a legitimate basis after estimating that its own capacity would be insufficient in the absence of external support, hence the turn to private companies, such as Wagner. French hypocrisy was further displayed with the threat of international isolation should Mali follow through with the Wagner agreement, a stance that was rightly countered by Mali Prime Minister Maiga Choguel Kokalla who expressed that his government was justified to seek partners to boost security in the face of France’s unilateral decision to withdraw its military elements without consultation.

Admittedly, Mali’s recent coups and geopolitical moves are anxiety-inducing actions to an international ‘community’ that thrives on maintaining a neoliberal status quo, no matter how dire. Like the 20-year war drive by the US government in Afghanistan, France has led its own ‘war on terror’ in western Africa for almost a decade, and strangely, in the face of worsening security conditions across the region, a decision by one of the African countries to seek alternatives is seen as such an affront to the apparently infallible European government of France. It will be wise for other African countries to pay a close eye to see that there is no perfect moment to assert self-determination regardless of the state’s security or trade stance. Imperialist interests benefit from the horrible conditions across much of the African continent, and actions to change that reality will be opposed strongly, African countries cannot continue with being pawns on its own board and must seek to connect these struggles -no matter how imperfect- with the larger aim of true African self-determination, industrialization, and equitable development.

Featured image: Emblem with Wagner Group logo stamped on it. File photo.

OI/OT