Bridges from Bamako
@BridgesFromBKO
B Whitehouse, PhD * More Octavia than Judith * Author, "Enduring Polygamy" (2023, Rutgers U. Press) * I aim to be a scout, not a soldier
Take that, anonymous peer reviewer number two! anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/am…


Another brick is laid in the wall of Mande neotraditionalism in #Mali
À propos de la charte de Kurukan Fuga 📌 Dans le cadre de la refondation de l’État, les Assises nationales ont recommandé, entre autres, de « redéfinir les valeurs culturelles en fonction de la Charte de Kurukan Fuga ». 🎯Au-delà du débat que cette recommandation pourrait…
When the military regime starts locking up female griots in #Mali, you know that things have taken a turn fr.apanews.net/news/mali-troi…
This takedown of US Africa policy "experts," and specifically of J. Peter Pham, is hard-hitting, but doesn't demonstrate that Pham's case is representative. While it lambastes poor editorial standards in his publications, it too contains lots of typos! africasacountry.com/2025/07/the-gr…
Dictators take note: human rights/democracy are not US policy priorities. @WBStevens, US State Department Bureau of African Affairs, visiting #Mali: "As President Trump made clear, the US is not there to tell leaders how they should run their countries." news.abamako.com/h/301410.html
Armed jihadi groups are now reportedly operating in #Mali's Kadiolo district which borders #BurkinaFaso and #Cotedivoire, a situation troubling many district residents: malijet.com/actualte_dans_…
In our July Chart of the Month, we take a look at Africa’s perception of the influence of external partners. According to @Afrobarometer, 60% of Africans view China’s influence positively vs. 53% for the U.S.
I recommend reading Laura Twagira's history of the Office du Niger (ohioswallow.com/9780821424681/…) to appreciate just how many ambitious plans for this agricultural zone in central #Mali have come and gone over the years
#AESinfo | #Mali 🇲🇱 L'Office du Niger Révèle sa Vision 2063 : Un Pôle Agro-Industriel au Cœur du Mali Kura L'Office du Niger, le plus vaste bassin agricole du Mali, dévoile une vision stratégique de développement global ambitieuse, pleinement alignée sur le programme national «…
Statement by @amnesty on the May execution of civilians near Diafarabé, #Mali: genocidewatch.com/single-post/ma…
Question: Which US president committed the greater diplomatic gaffe while hosting a Liberian president: Reagan (who actually referred to President Samuel Doe as "Chairman Moe"), or Trump (who complimented President Joseph Boakai on his beautiful English)? nytimes.com/2025/07/09/us/…
#Mali : Lutte contre le terrorisme : Les #Etats-Unis réaffirment leur engagement aux côtés du Mali L’annonce a été faite hier par le directeur adjoint principal pour la lutte contre le terrorisme au Conseil de sécurité nationale de la Maison Blanche, le Lieutenant-colonel à…
Russian channel RTVI is now distributed by TV service Malivision in #Mali themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/08/rus…
Rudy Atallah, haut responsable américain, en visite au Mali pour renforcer la coopération antiterroriste...news.abamako.com/h/301174.html
"C’est ici un des aveuglements du nouveau panafricanisme et du mouvement décolonial, l’assimilation: démocratie = Occident. Or l’histoire nous apprend que l’invention démocratique en Afrique précède la colonisation." Ousmane Ndiaye: les formes démocratiques sont universelles.
En librairie et sur toutes les plateformes ce 10 juillet. Bonne lecture. riveneuve.com/catalogue/lafr…
A report is circulating that the government of #Mali plans to sell 1000 kg of gold from the stock seized at the site operated by @barrick_mining at Loulo back in January. At current prices this sale would net over US$100 million. #Zonebourse zonebourse.com/actualite-bour…
Western analysts trying to account for jihadism in the Sahel rarely mention foreign meddling. Sahelien analysts rarely mention internal institutional factors. Anglophone African analysts can go either way. This one (based in the UK) takes the former path. theconversation.com/west-africa-te…
Parmi les Maliens qui sont au courant du retrait de leur pays de la CEDEAO, l’écrasante majorité (91%) disent approuver cette décision. Rendez-vous sur notre site pour en savoir plus : shorturl.at/l4vLK #VoicesAfrica #Intégration #Ecowas #Mali
It's sad to see a great intellectual like Aly Tounkara, who has written insightfully about the causes of jihadi terrorism in #Mali (e.g., liseuse.harmattan.fr/978-2-343-1766…), being used to spout government propaganda. youtu.be/GGgML6CjN1M
It all reminds me of the obsequious birthday greetings and New Year's wishes directed to Congo's President-for-Life printed in Congolese newspapers. I never expected to see such patron-client signaling mirrored by US civil servants or elected officials in my own lifetime.
I just got a marketing email from the Social Security Adminstration 😑
In which Modibo Keita asks the US ambassador for transport planes so his paratroopers can fight "dissident tribes" in the desert (late 1961), and sends armed men to search the BCEAO vaults for nonexistent treasures upon leaving the CFA Franc zone (July 1962)
Mon dernier article, intitulé “Une Baleine Dans Le Djoliba”, est sur la diplomatie américaine des années 60 et 70 au Mali; c’est un recueil d’anecdotes sur le vécu de plusieurs diplomates américains en poste au Mali dans la période post-indépendance. sahel.blog/2025/06/30/une…
A wonderful new article by @EvaStambol, Almamy Sylla and @signecold unpacks divergent understandings of anticolonialism in #Mali. Published in the journal @Geopolitics_Jl: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…