Mali Needs Heroes–Even Cinematic Ones will do
Ibrahima Touré’s feature film adaptation of Ly’s powerful novel, "Toiles d’araignées" (Spiders’ webs) may be what Mali needs now.
Mali
It is as if a library burned down
Salafist fighters burn hundreds of rare manuscripts, some unique and centuries old, before leaving Timbuktu to French paratroopers.
France in Mali: The End of the Fairytale
This is not a neo-colonial offensive. The argument that it is might be comfortable and familiar, but it is bogus and ill-informed.
François Hollande went to Algeria
Hollande’s visit coincided with a vote in the UN Security Council authorizing ECOWAS intervention in Mali; something Algeria, Mali's northern neighbor, objected to.
First Thoughts on Mali’s Second Coup
Mali's interim Prime Minister is forced out by soldiers. What that means for Mali’s political future is anyone’s guess, but it doesn’t look good.
Foreign Correspondents and False Notes
Foreign journalists would do well to get their heads around Mali’s crisis, because all signs are that it will be around for a while.
Kickstarter Must be Strong Stuff
When Deacon, a member of the band Animal Collective went to Mali to make an album and . . . to end slavery.
What Happened to the African Renaissance?
Last week’s assaults on the tombs of saints, scholars and prominent ancestors in Timbuktu punctuated a long, leaden moment in Mali's crisis.
Suffering and Smiling
Mali’s rebel armies, their shifting alliances and their fans make for quite a spectacle.
Mali: Soldiers Acting Like Children
It's very hard to figure out what the soldiers who took power in a coup in Mali, have in store for the country. Or if they even have a plan.
Don’t Talk About Somebody’s Mama
Malians have little patience for Amadou Toumani Touré, Mali’s former president, deposed in a coup on 22 March.
Why is so much coverage of the Mali crisis so bad?
We mean the kind of bad that comes from being caught in a Beckettian loop of either saying nothing at all or having nothing to say.
Bamako-sur-Seine
A sense of how the Malian diaspora experiences the political tensions and instability back home.
The Racial Politics of Tuareg Nationalism
Historian Greg Mann is not a big fan of Tuareg group, Tinariwen. The music is alright, he agrees, but the politics is rancid.
Mali’s Democracy–Down but not out
Is the adoption of a new constitution by Mali's military regime a starting point for getting the soldiers back under civilian rule? Let’s game this out a little bit.
Mali’s Coup–‘Politics is Bad’
The idea that because the coup happened, it's no longer worth taking positions on it is wrong-headed and dangerous. We should ask why, and why now.