On Shifting Ground

Molière Out, Mercenaries In: Powers and Politics in Françafrique

Is West Africa going to war over Niger? And is the Niger coup part of a wider decline in French colonial influence – and growing Russian and Chinese interest – in the region? Ray Suarez sits down with security analyst Fola Aina and journalist Nabila Ramdani to discuss the coup in Niger – and across former French colonies in the Sahel region. They explain why the Niger coup could help the Wagner Group expand influence. 
  
 Guests:
  
 Fola Aina, international security analyst at the Royal United Services Institute of Security and Defense Studies in London
  
 Nabila Ramdani, French journalist and author of “Fixing France, How to Repair a Broken Republic”
  
  
 Host:  
  
 Ray Suarez
  
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Do you ever feel like reality is shifting beneath your feet? Veteran journalist Ray Suarez spent forty years covering elections, civil wars, and pandemics that shaped the way we live. He’s seen entire countries flipped upside down and right side up… and now he’s here to bring a sensible voice to our endless doom-scrolling. Each week, Ray hosts conversations with journalists, leaders and policy experts that explore how people from New Hampshire to New Guinea are navigating our rapidly changing world. A co-production of Commonwealth Club - World Affairs and KQED.