Almost all continental countries in the subregion have been affected by cycles of internal instability – longer or shorter. For the first time in its political history, an electoral process in Senegal, such as the one recently concluded, has led to phenomena of social and political unrest arising from the alleged intentions of the former president to run for a new term or to prevent his main rival from running.

Russia is shown to be involved in the political instability in the region, embodied by several coup d'état against established governments. The new regime in Niger, which has emerged from a coup d'état, has been demanding the withdrawal from its territory of a US base, the only in the whole subregion, where some 1,000 troops are stationed. READ MORE