Nationalists or Islamists

( Emerging States )

Picture Credit: africanarguments.org

France has intervened in Mali with the stated intention of gaining control over the chaos currently afflicting the country. While the justifications for this intervention have focused on Islamist fighters, Wesleyan University Professor Peter Rutland argues that the Malian crisis primarily revolves around a nationalist rebellion of the Tuareg people that has not been adequately addressed. Rutland argues that by supporting the Malian government’s repression of ethnic minorities, western powers have exacerbated the causes of the crisis they are now scrambling to contain. Without adequate recognition of the true nature of this conflict, it seems likely that the French intervention will struggle to establish its stated goal of political stability in Mali.