Bruce Whitehouse at SAIS on Mali’s Elections, the Future of Captain Sanogo, and More

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Amadou Sanogo, Amadou Toumani Touré, Azawad, Bamako, Bruce Whitehouse, democracy in Africa, Mali, Peter Lewis, SAIS, Todd Moss, Tuareg, US military engagement in Mali

Today, I was able to hear the Lehigh anthropologist Bruce Whitehouse speak for the second time since I started blogging.  Dr. Lewis of SAIS’ Africa Studies Program noted in his introduction that he was ‘delighted to welcome’ Dr. Whitehouse.  I second that comment, as I greatly appreciate the nuances, specific info, and multiple perspectives that Dr. Whitehouse brings forward in his speeches as well as on his blog (which is much more sophisticated than mine but rather infrequently updated these days).

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Mali Matters: A Brief Analysis

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Amadou Sanogo, Amadou Toumani Touré, Bridges Institute, Mali, Mali aid, Mali coup, Mali election, Mali Watch, Vivian Derryck

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything about Mali, the African flavor du jour in DC policy circles.  A recent piece by Vivian Derryck of the Bridges Institute, Mali Matters, gives me an excuse to return to the country. [Incidentally, the piece appears in the Africa blog of the Wilson Center, which I recently reviewed.]

In the piece, Derryck discusses her efforts to establish a Mali Watch uniting DC civil society groups to monitor developments in Mali (you can read an incredibly brief synopsis of the Watch on the Institute’s website).  While the piece is quite well written for the most part (I was particularly pleased to see her plea for the need to acknowledge Tuareg grievances), there are two points on which I would like to raise my customary quibbles (in the vain hope that my quibbles will one day influence some important people).