On August 28^th, Macron announced that the French ambassador and troops defied demands from Niger’s military junta to withdraw from the country. Macron voiced his support for Sylvain Itte, the ambassador who ignored a letter which gave him 48 hours to leave Niger. These recent developments highlight France’s staunch opposition to the newly instated Nigerian government. While Macron has maintained that his position is in the interest of democracy, human rights, and counter-terrorism, many Nigerian citizens have accused the president of pursuing neo-colonialist policies that further France’s political and financial goals.

Niger held its first successful democratic elections since its independence in 1960 in 2021, appointing Mohamed Bazoum as Prime Minister. But despite hopes for a stable democratic process, the nation’s Presidential Guard held a coup late this July and installed Ali Mahaman Lamine Zein as the new Prime Minister. This new Nigerien regime has faced international and regional condemnation as a result of the coup. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (E.C.O.W.A.S.) threatened military intervention if the couped government refused to re-instate the democratically-elected Bazoum. Furthermore, Reuters reports that both Western and West African countries have implemented stringent sanctions on Niger, including the suspension of commercial transactions, the freezing of state assets, and the withholding of humanitarian aid.

While U.S and French officials have asserted that their response is in the interest of democracy, it is important to analyze the financial and geo-political motives involved. According to the state-sanctioned Turkish Anadolu Agency, the Sahel region has the highest rate of terrorist attacks in the world, with 22,074 people being killed between 2007 and 2022. The high rate of Islamist extremism prevalent within the region has made it a hot spot for U.S. and French counter-terrorism operations, which includes the decade-long French-led Operation Barkhane, ending in 2022. Both nations have built multiple military bases in Niger to house the increased military presence; according to Anadolu Agency, Air Base 101, for example, is a French air base in Niamey used by both French and U.S. air force personnel. The United States also built an extensive drone base in Niger’s Agadez region in 2019, which cost 110 million dollars to build and 30 million to maintain per year. Because the nation houses the second-largest military base in Africa, maintaining a pro-Western regime in Niger is in the interest of both France and the United States.

The West maintains that its military presence in Niger and the Sahel region at large is necessary to mitigate terrorist and extremist activities. However, according to the Anadolu Agency, terrorist attacks in the Sahel region have increased by 2000% in the last 15 years. It is hard to justify a Western military presence when the counter-terrorism operations have been so ineffective. While it is impossible to prove that foreign military presence contributed to the very extremism it purports to fight, expelling Western powers from their countries has long been an ideological goal of Jihadist organizations. Thus, while Washington maintains that its presence is needed to maintain peace, its extensive military operations might have contributed to the destabilization of the region in the first place.

According to Voice of America News, the newly formed government has introduced a three-year transition plan to once again resume elections. However, given human nature, the fragility of the state, and the economic crisis, it is likely that Niger’s democratic institutions will cease to be effective for the foreseeable future. While it is tragic that yet another African country has fallen into a military dictatorship, the international response been neither well calibrated nor reasonable. It is completely legal for countries to sanction Niger in opposition to the recent coup, but persistent threats to invade the country are unacceptable. Undermining democratic institutions is not a violation of international law, but acts of aggression certainly are. Furthermore, France’s refusal to respect calls to leave from Niger’s government is undermining that country’s sovereignty. If France continues to operate in Niger despite Ali Zein’s calls not to, its presence could arguably be deemed illegal occupation of a country. Furthermore, relinquishing humanitarian aid because of the coup is despicable. Such funding should not be conditional or used for political means.

The persistent threats the West has made toward the military regime highlight an arrogance within Western foreign policy. According to Al Jazeera, roughly 30,000 Nigeriens gathered in a stadium in Niamey on August 6^th to support the new government in the face of increasingly hostile rhetoric from E.C.O.W.A.S. and the West. If the United States and France were truly interested in Nigeriens’ prosperity, these countries should ask themselves why there is such an outpouring of support for an illegitimate government.

Niger clearly has many economic and political grievances that are not being addressed. If the West continues to isolate the nation on account of the new government, the Nigerien economy will likely falter, which will, in turn, increase extremism. The only way to make meaningful change is to understand Niger’s socio-economic issues and try to address them through diplomacy, negotiation, and collaboration. Deciding a country’s fate without regarding the desires of its people undermines the principle of self-determination.