News brief

Mali’s democracy crumbles. The president of Mali’s transitional government signed a decree dissolving political parties amid a backdrop of pro-democracy opposition, a government official announced. The decision on May 13 by Gen. Assimi Goita comes amid a surge in kidnappings of pro-democracy activists in the capital Bamako and just days after a demonstration by several hundred pro-democracy activists. Some political figures are planning to appeal to the Constitutional Court to overturn the decision. Mali has been under military rule since a 2021 coup d’état led by Mr. Goita.

In 2023, we wrote about a string of coups in Africa, including in Mali, that some experts suggested were not so much the twilight of Western influence but that African countries are breaking their dependence on one power.