Behind the FLA’s Kidal pullout: understanding the logic of strategic retreats in northern Mali
The Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) has confirmed that it withdrew its fighters from Kidal, in northern Mali, characterising the move as a “controlled strategic retreat.” The separatist movement insists its combatants left the town without engaging in direct ground combat and that the decision is only temporary.Continue Reading
Behind Russia’s Baltic Nazi ruling: lawfare, memory, and the new frontline
On 5 October 2026, a Moscow court formally recognised thirteen individuals and five organisations from the Baltic states as accomplices of Nazi Germany. The decision, long in preparation, is not a mere historical footnote. It is a calculated move that turns a Second World War chapter into a live instrumentContinue Reading
Guinea-Bissau arms seizures: the hidden power struggle shaping the December vote
The wave of weapons seizures unfolding in Bissau is far more than a routine security sweep. Behind the containers prised open and the houses searched lies a deeper contest over who will control Guinea-Bissau’s political trajectory — and, crucially, whether former president Umaro Sissoco Embaló will be allowed anywhere nearContinue Reading
What the M51.3 test from Le Vigilant reveals about Europe’s deeper security logic
The first acceptance firing of the M51.3 strategic ballistic missile from the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Le Vigilant did not happen in a vacuum. It took place against a steady erosion of Europe’s security environment, where airspace violations, drone incursions and mounting friction between Russia and NATO members have becomeContinue Reading
Poultry ban and power plays: inside Gabon’s gamble at the WTO
With less than three months remaining before Gabon’s ban on imported broiler chicken takes effect on 1 January 2027, Libreville and Washington are locked in a high-stakes trade confrontation. Yet the real story lies beneath the surface: a deeper struggle over how far a sovereign state can push to shieldContinue Reading
Burkina Faso’s e-government push: a glossy facade over a nation’s deeper fault lines
As Ouagadougou lights up for the national days of patriotic commitment and civic participation, the transitional government is rolling out its full communications machinery. The “Allée des services au peuple” stands as the showcase of the Progressive Popular Revolution regime: online criminal records, digital nationality certificates, and the computerisation ofContinue Reading
Senegal’s flood response: an analysis of two years of Sonko’s promises
By AMINATA KABORE — JournalistContinue Reading
Behind Benin’s port boom: why Cotonou’s transit traffic is surging
Cotonou’s port is quietly rewriting the rules of West African trade, and the forces driving its rise reveal as much about regional economics as they do about Benin’s own ambitions. As neighboring markets struggle with congestion and shifting supply routes, the Beninese gateway has positioned itself at the center ofContinue Reading
Spain’s housing crisis: behind the snap election gamble
The roots of Spain’s housing crisis run deep, and the political fallout is now reshaping the country’s future. When parliament rejected a package of housing reforms, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez responded by calling snap elections. The move laid bare the structural tensions that have been building for years: a marketContinue Reading
Inside the Cameroon-Nigeria border trade comeback: security gains, survival economics, and a customs windfall
Trade between northern Nigeria and Cameroon’s Far North region has been quietly rebuilding since 2019, and the recovery is less about grand strategy than about a fragile mix of security improvements and economic necessity. The reopening of a key customs post seven years ago set the stage, but it isContinue Reading
Niger’s uranium gamble: what really changed after the break with Orano
The unseen mechanics of Niamey’s uranium strategy When Niger’s military leaders severed ties with Orano, the French nuclear giant that had extracted the country’s uranium for over fifty years, they promised a new era of sovereignty and better returns. Behind the dramatic headlines, however, a more complex reality has takenContinue Reading
Why Algeria’s Cotonou push is testing the real limits of African cooperation
The arrival of a multisectoral Algerian delegation at the Benin Deal Room 2026, held in Cotonou from 16 to 18 September, says less about protocol than about intent. Algiers wants its African presence to translate into tangible economic partnerships — pharmaceuticals, energy, infrastructure, public enterprises. Yet behind the Beninese opportunityContinue Reading