Senegal

Politics

Senegal's National Assembly voted in favor of trying five former ministers who served under the previous administration of President Macky Sall before the High Court of Justice on embezzlement and corruption charges, Radio France Internationale reported on May 8.

Senegal: National Assembly Backs Trial of Sall-Era Ministers

Mali

Economics

Military & Security

Al Qaeda's Sahel affiliate, Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, has significantly expanded its operations in Mali's western Kayes region, intensifying attacks near the eastern Senegalese border and engaging in various illicit activities within eastern Senegal, Radio France Internationale reported on April 28, citing a report by the Dakar-based think tank Timbuktu Institute. 

Senegal: Al Qaeda Affiliate Continues Push To Infiltrate Eastern Senegal

Senegalese Justice Minister Ousmane Diagne announced plans to open a judicial investigation after the country's Court of Auditors found that Senegal's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio stood at 99.6% at the end of 2023, significantly higher than the previously reported 73.6%, Radio France Internationale reported on Feb. 12.

Senegal: Government Announces Investigation After Bombshell Audit Reveals Surging Public Debt 

At least 76 opposition political parties formed the new "Front for the Defense of Democracy and the Republic," or FDR, to oppose the ruling Patriots of Senegal, or PASTEF, Radio France Internationale reported on Feb. 11.

Senegal: Opposition Parties Form Coalition Against PASTEF  

Sub-Saharan Africa

Chad

Ethiopia

Nigeria

France

French President Emmanuel Macron said France had decided to withdraw from military facilities in West and Central Africa on its own initiative, triggering spats with Senegal and Chad, Radio France Internationale reported on Jan. 7.

France, Africa: Macron Stresses France Initiated Military Drawdowns, Outlines New Approach to Africa  

Cote d'Ivoire

Gabon

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced in his New Year's address that France would hand over its Port Bouet military base near Abidjan to the Ivorian military by the end of January, Le Monde reported on Jan. 1.

Cote d'Ivoire: President Ouattara Announces France Will Cede Military Base

The Senegalese government's 2025 budget was adopted after Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko triggered Article 86.6 of the Senegalese Constitution, enabling him to bypass a vote in the National Assembly, Senenews reported on Dec. 29.

Senegal: PASTEF Adopts 2025 Budget, Eyes Lower Fiscal Deficit 

Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby, in a televised address on Dec. 1, defended the decision to end the defense agreement with France, calling it "obsolete" and lacking relevance to current challenges, Reuters reported the following day.

Chad, Senegal: Two More African Countries Declare Plans to End Military Deals with France

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A Gabonese brigade participates in a training exercise as part of a military program linked to the Franco-Gabonese partnership at the French military base Camp de Gaulle in Libreville on March 19, 2025. 

France's reduced influence in Africa will create space for local and foreign actors to take on greater leadership roles, but their inability to fill the security vacuum left by France's withdrawal would threaten to destabilize the region.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 2: The Age of Multi-Alignment 

A picture released on July 12, 1963, of then-French President Gen. Charles de Gaulle (2L) and Jacques Foccart (L) greeting African, Malagasy and French overseas territories veterans arriving in Paris for French Bastille Day celebrations.

After decades of cultivating tight-knit relationships with francophone African countries, France has effectively ended its forward military presence in West and Central Africa amid shifting political dynamics in both regions, which will weaken its influence on the continent but enable Paris to reallocate resources towards Europe's security.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 1: A New Balance of Power 

Snapshots

Voters wait in line outside a voting station in Dakar on Nov. 17, 2024, during Senegal's parliamentary elections.

Global Elections

Senegal's ruling PASTEF party secured a strong parliamentary majority in the Nov. 17 elections, which paves the way for the implementation of its reformist manifesto and the advancement of much-needed fiscal consolidation measures.

What's Next for Senegal After the President's Landslide Victory in Snap Legislative Elections

Assessments

Brazil

Israel

Austria

Russia

A G-20 summit banner on Nov. 12 at City Hall in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will host G-20 leaders Nov. 18-19 in Rio de Janeiro, where he will try to secure support for three main proposals.

Energy

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Brazil Hosts the G-20, Constitutional Crisis Looms in Israel

Bassirou Diomaye Faye gives an address as Senegal's president at an exhibition center in the new town of Diamniadio near the capital Dakar on April 2, 2024.

Senegal's young new president will likely slow-walk his plans to renegotiate contracts with energy companies, but this could deny him access to the funding he needs to pursue his economic pledges.

Will Senegal's New President Overhaul Its Oil and Gas Sector?

Haiti

United States

China

Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 11, 2024, in Beijing.

U.S.-China Relations

The Weekly Rundown: Senegalese Presidential Elections, Xi Meets With U.S. CEOs

Former Senegalese Prime Minister Amadou Ba (center), the ruling coalition candidate in Senegal's 2024 presidential election, prays ahead of a campaign meeting in Diourbel, Senegal, on March 19, 2024. 

A victory by the ruling coalition candidate would portend policy continuity -- and potentially violent protests -- while a victory from a leading opposition coalition would see a shift toward left-wing policies that could deter foreign investment.

Previewing Senegal's 2024 Presidential Election

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Egypt

Palestinian Territories

Taiwan

Europe

Germany

Displaced Palestinians camp near the fence separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt on Feb. 16, 2024, in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Egypt will continue to prepare a contingency plan in case Palestinians cross the Egypt-Gaza border amid growing signs that the Rafah offensive could start as early as this week.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Egypt Plans for a Palestinian Influx, African Union Heads of State Meet

An opposition supporter reacts in front of a burning barricade during demonstrations in Dakar, Senegal, on Feb. 4, 2024, after President Macky Sall announced the postponement of the presidential election. 

The postponement will extend President Sall's term by nearly a year, casting doubt over Senegal's political future, as well as ECOWAS' ability to deter such power grabs in the region.

In Senegal, an Election Delay Fuels Fears of Democratic Backsliding

South Sudan

Ghana

South Africa

Supporters of former South African President Jacob Zuma sing and chant in Tembisa, South Africa, during a recruitment drive for Zuma's newly launched uMkhonto we Sizwe party on Jan. 21, 2024.

Of the 13 countries holding elections this year, Senegal, South Africa, Chad, Ghana and South Sudan's ballots will likely be the most politically and economically impactful.

Previewing Sub-Saharan Africa's 2024 Elections

Eritrea

Rwanda

Sudan

Uganda

People flee their neighborhoods in Khartoum, Sudan, amid fighting between the army and paramilitary troops on April 19, 2023. 

Government institutions in eastern and western Africa remain relatively strong, but potential succession crises, simmering unrest and weak leaders still pose latent risks.

Assessing the Risk of Future African Coups, Part 2: West and East Africa

Protesters hold placards denouncing ECOWAS on Aug. 3, 2023, in Niamey, Niger. While an intervention probably would topple the Nigerien junta, it could cause a regional conflict, boost jihadists and lead to a weak Nigerian civilian regime.

While an intervention probably would topple the Nigerien junta, it could cause a regional conflict, boost jihadists and lead to a weak Nigerian civilian regime.

How Might an ECOWAS Military Intervention Take Shape in Niger?

Located on West Africa's Atlantic coast, Senegal is surrounded by Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea Bissau to the south. Perhaps more interesting, it almost completely swallows Gambia, with the tiny country carved into its larger neighbor.    Senegal has been an entry point for Africa for many centuries. Its navigable river, of which the country's name is derived, has provided a transportation artery for locals and foreign powers alike. Indeed, the arrival of French imperialists in the mid-17th century changed the region's political trajectory dramatically. French influence was strong in Senegal, given its use as a base for French power projection into the rest of what would become the West African element of France's global empire.    Senegal's development since independence from France in 1960 as one of Africa's, and especially West Africa's, most stable democracies has allowed it to cultivate a relative influence in the region and in the Francophone world more generally, despite a relative lack of natural resources, widespread poverty and ethnocultural cleavages. Nevertheless, the country has had to manage a sometimes-troublesome relationship with its neighbor, Gambia, which provided safe haven and alleged funding to a long-running secessionist movement in Senegal's southernmost Casamance region during the reign of Yahya Jammeh, Gambia's dictatorial leader.    Jammeh's downfall in 2016 created a shift in relations between the two countries, leading to more cooperation across multiple fronts. Moreover, Senegal has emerged in recent years as one of West Africa's most promising countries for energy exploration and exploitation. The potential future financial windfall from energy production could help the impoverished country continue robust growth in the years ahead.

SITUATION REPORTS

Senegal: National Assembly Backs Trial of Sall-Era Ministers

Senegal: Al Qaeda Affiliate Continues Push To Infiltrate Eastern Senegal

Senegal: Government Announces Investigation After Bombshell Audit Reveals Surging Public Debt

Senegal: Opposition Parties Form Coalition Against PASTEF

France, Africa: Macron Stresses France Initiated Military Drawdowns, Outlines New Approach to Africa

Cote d'Ivoire: President Ouattara Announces France Will Cede Military Base

Senegal: PASTEF Adopts 2025 Budget, Eyes Lower Fiscal Deficit

Chad, Senegal: Two More African Countries Declare Plans to End Military Deals with France

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