Mali Mopti
Read Why do pastoralists in Mali join jihadist groups? A political ecological explanation
1. Why did pastoralists in Mopti feel that after the political transition of 1992 Mali was a successful model of democratic development?. (1 pt) – (one or two sentences)
2. What do Benjaminsen and Ba mean when they wrote that militarized conservation provoked the insurgency in Mopti? (2 pts) – (one paragraph)
3. Violent conflicts between the economic groups of pastoralists and farmers is one aspect of the insurgency in Mopti. How are these economic disputes related to ethnicity? Be sure to identify the ethnic groups involved and their interests. (1 pts) – (two or three sentences)
4. While the insurgency in Mopti has ethnic overtones, Benjaminsen and Ba also point to a class / status conflict within Fulani society. How does that figure in the insurgency? (1 pt) – (two or three sentences)
Sample Solution
Since the 1991 uprising, which saw the ouster of the country’s long-standing military dictator and ushered in a democratically elected government, Mali has achieved a record of democratization that is among the best in Africa. n January 2013, Mali hit international headlines when jihadist forces moved south after having conquered northern Mali in 2012, before the invasion was stopped at the battle of Konna in the Mopti region of central Mali (11–18 January 2013) by combined French and Malian troops. Since 2015 jihadist groups have taken control of the Mopti region in central Mali. We ask how such a radical development has been possible in a country previously praised as a bulwark against radical Islam in Africa. pastoralists seem to support the jihadist takeover, because of an anti-state, anti-elite and pro-pastoral jihadist discourse, because they have become increasingly fatigued by and disgruntled with a predatory and corrupt state, and because the development model imposed by the state and international donors has not responded to pastoral priorities.
