China has backed itself into a diplomatic corner. In order to achieve its ambitious goals, Beijing must balance its reputation, relations with potential investees in the Global South, and relations with the United States. In terms of the U.S., Beijing wants to project power, mainly by winning the trade war through strategic leveraging of counternarcotics […]
Tag: West Africa
A Tale of Two Tax Inspectors
On April 2nd, 2024, Bassirou Faye became the youngest president in Senegal’s history, less than a month after his release from prison. Faye, a relatively unknown figure in the political arena, received the support and endorsement of Ousmane Sonko, the main opposition leader against former Senegalese president Macky Sall. Sonko himself had been disqualified from […]
The Dangers of Politicizing Western Humanitarian Aid
At the dawn of the 20th century, failing dictatorships and crumbling empires left millions of people vulnerable to poverty, hunger, war, and extermination. The “free” world, with all its graciousness, has aided tens of nations to alleviate their suffering. Statistically, numerous humanitarian assistance projects, which the Western bloc primarily manages and funds, have shaped the […]
The Child Made Your Chocolate
Modern Slavery Individuals at the bottom in a supply chain are often separated from the product of their labor, and insufficiently acknowledged as individuals. Chocolate supply chains in particular can be obscured to the point of near invisibility when trying to understand where beans have been farmed, who has farmed them, and at what cost. […]
No Exit? A Complicated Situation for the EU in Mali
Four hundred European and Malian troops were sleeping or standing guard at the Koulikoro training center at three in the morning when the two pickup trucks drove up. The driver of the first truck got stuck on a bump outside the camp, but the second truck made it all the way to the entrance and […]
Ebola Ethics
Sporadically emerging from its natural reservoirs, the Ebola virus has recently captured global attention. Looming over West Africa, the Ebola pandemic has been transmitted and transported over national boundaries, now finding itself on U.S. soil. But the Ebola virus is not new; this disease was first noted in Zaire, the predecessor of the Democratic Republic […]