The Most Recent Malian Coup and its Implications

In the past 10 years, Mali has undergone three separate coups, including one less than 9 months ago. This follows a general trend of extreme instability in the region due to a general lack of a static democratic process. These coups are extremely complicated and follow years of political interactions, but recently they have primarily been a result of power struggles between civilian governing figures and military officials. This particular coup d'etat consisted of military officials capturing President Bah N'daw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Minister of Defence Souleymane Doucouré. 

As a direct result of these actions, there will certainly be a short-term increase in tensions which will further inhibit government development during this period. It is to be expected that civil unrest will spread further throughout the state as conflict between opposing groups is nearly inevitable. Another (More short term) side effect is the impact this will have on the Malian economy until the country eventually reaches a level of relative stability. This was the case with previous coups and a period of establishing new infrastructure in various fields is sure to follow.

In addition, this event also brings about a plethora of larger issues on the world stage. Firstly, the tensions have been rising for numerous years at this point, and it seems to be nearing a tipping point at the moment. If a decision is not reached quickly, it is not unlikely that the situation would devolve into more militaristic action, or even civil war. Secondly, Mali receives assistance from foreign peacekeepers like the UN that afford assistance with the domestic war on terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda. Although foreign forces currently remain stationed in Mali, it is not unlikely that they would be removed in order to not further complicate the power struggle. If this occurs, terrorist groups could potentially establish a hold on Mali, which would greatly weaken the surrounding nations and exacerbate the issue of extremism in the region. This is a very delicate state of affairs that foreign nations are not eager to interact with, and it will be interesting to view the United Nations response over the coming months. 

So far the African Union has suspended Mali's membership and various other groups like the United Nations and the European Union have issued a statement condemning the actions of the coup. 

Links:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/02/africa/african-union-suspends-mali-intl/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/28/another-coup-mali-heres-what-you-need-know/