Mali (and France) two years after military intervention
A Roundtable Discussion with:
Manthia Diawara, University Professor, Director of the Institute of African American Affairs (New York University), author of We Won’t Budge (2003), In Search of Africa (1998).
Gregory Mann, Professor of History (Columbia University), author of The End of the Road: Nongovernmentality in the West African Sahel (forthcoming), Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the 20th century (
Johanna Siméant, professor of Political Science (Université de Paris 1 - Panthéon – Sorbonne), visiting professor (IFS, NYU), author of La cause des sans-papiers (1998), La grève de la faim (2009), Contester au Mali. Formes de la mobilisation et de la critique à Bamako (2014).
Almost two years ago, on January 11, 2013, France launched Operation Serval, sending 4000 troops into Mali to oust Islamist militants from the North of the Mali, who had began a push into the center of the country. At the time, many supported this intervention and labeled it a success. Today, the western media has largely moved on without taking stock of the enduring consequences of the French-led intervention in Mali. Our panel will re-visit the background of the intervention, examine arguments about its legitimacy (or lack thereof), and assess mid-range consequences.