Although there had been an increase in violence in Niger since the last election results were announced, the attempted coup, on March 31, raised concerns to a new level in the volatile country.
Adolescent girls face unique challenges in times of conflict and crisis yet they are rarely consulted about how to engender peace in their communities.
Marie Rodet, SOAS, University of London; Bakary Camara, Université des sciences juridiques et politiques de Bamako, and Lotte Pelckmans, University of Copenhagen
Descent-based slavery – when a slave status is ascribed to a person based on their alleged ancestry – continues to exist in Mali.
Guillaume Soto-Mayor, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM) and Delina Goxho, Institute of Human and Social sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence
The EU has already poured billions of euros into its assistance programs for the Sahel countries. The fundamental principles of this aid need to be rethought if it is to be truly effective.
Now that African countries have signed up for the continental free trade agreement, they must complete the institutional loop by jumpstarting the creation of the African Monetary Fund.
Research shows that unrest, even terrorism, can erupt in poor countries with a surplus of young people and not enough jobs. Can Niger, a once-peaceful sub-Saharan African nation, handle its baby boom?