The Economist - USA (2021-02-20)

12 Leaders The EconomistFebruary 20th 2021

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F

or thepast eight years France has been leading a counter-

terrorism war in Africa. The fighting is mainly in three coun-

tries—Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso—and straddles an area four

times the size of France itself, stretching from the great dunes on

the southern edge of the Sahara down through the thorny acacia

scrub of the Sahel.

It is brutal. Last year jihadist-related violence in the region

claimed about 6,200 lives. Almost 2m people have fled their

homes. The conflict is not just causing misery among the world’s

poorest and fastest-growing populations. It also threatens to

spread chaos into coastal countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana

and Benin, whose stability is essential if this huge part of Africa

is ever to grow rich.

A year ago, with the backing of leaders in the region, President

Emmanuel Macron led a mini-surge to try to push back the jihad-

ists, adding about 600 troops to take France’s to-

tal force, known as Operation Barkhane, to

5,100. Working with local armies, French troops

have won some big tactical successes, in partic-

ular against Islamic State in the Greater Sahara

(isgs). By bombing its hideouts and chasing its

convoys of motorbikes and pickup trucks, Bark-

hane has shaken this jihadist group.

Yet even as French troops have hammered

militias linked to isgs, others mostly affiliated to a branch of

al-Qaeda have continued their deadly business. The cruel truth is

that France finds itself leading a war it will struggle to win, and

for which nobody is particularly grateful. At home, Barkhane en-

joys cross-party support, but a new poll suggests that a slim ma-

jority of French voters now oppose the war. In the region, where

France has often propped up autocrats or turned a blind eye to

coups in its former colonies, it faces ongoing protests. On Febru-

ary 16th, after a summit with Sahel leaders, Mr Macron promised

that he would not immediately draw down troops, but said that

this was not “a forever war” (see Middle East & Africa section).

The region’s own armies have improved considerably since

2013, when rebels and jihadists overran all of northern Mali and

were marching on Bamako, the capital. But they are nowhere

near ready to hold the line without the support of French troops

and air power, American intelligence-gathering and training

from other Western powers. Mali’s government barely controls

much of the country’s north or centre beyond its largest cities,

and that is only with the help of a 15,000-strong unforce.

There are also limits to what heavily armed outsiders can

achieve, as Western armies have learned in Somalia and Afghani-

stan. This is a fight that will ultimately be won or lost by the re-

gion’s own governments. That, in turn, will depend on whether

they can regain the trust of long-neglected rural populations,

who often see the jihadists as less predatory and corrupt than the

state. The governments of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso must do

a better job of supplying services such as clean water, schools

and clinics. They will also have to curb graft and human-rights

abuses. Last year more civilians in the Sahel were killed by gov-

ernment soldiers than by jihadists. There is only so much that

France and its Western allies can do to improve

Sahelian governance. But they can make their

support for local leaders and armies more con-

ditional on tangible changes, such as the prose-

cution of soldiers who have been accused of war

crimes. An end to coups, such as the one in Mali

last year, would also help.

If France wants the Sahel’s governments to

take more responsibility, it may have to accept

that their leaders could enter into peace talks with some of the ji-

hadists that it is fighting. Local ceasefires such as one struck in

Djibo, a city in northern Burkina Faso, could be a useful starting-

point and a way of allowing teachers and nurses to return.

As much as Mr Macron would like to find a way to bring

France’s troops home, many will be needed in the Sahel for years.

However, it is unreasonable to expect France to carry the combat

burden alone. The entire region would be damaged if the Sahel’s

already-weak states were to collapse. Countries with effective ar-

mies such as Ghana could do more to protect themselves by pro-

tecting their neighbours. A few of France’s European allies have

stepped forward with small commando forces. Others should

make good on their promises to join them. Nobody wants to get

stuck in a forever war. But repelling the jihadists will take troops,

money, co-operation and, above all, patience. 7

Macron’s African mission

France wants to avoid a “forever war” in the Sahel. That will take patience, and allies

Fighting jihadists

into the workforce by offering higher pay and safer, more con-

venient jobs. Alas, India’s notorious red tape has restricted the

growth of labour-intensive, female-friendly industries such as

the garment trade, which has prospered next door in Bangla-

desh. To the extent that India’s government does try to foster

private employment, it coddles pet industries, especially it, that

are prestigious but unlikely to employ the masses. And the state

is extremely sexist in its own hiring: only 11% of the central gov-

ernment’s employees are women.

The government has adopted some helpful reforms. Factory

rules that are soon to come into effect will ease restrictions on

women’s working hours, which should make them more appeal-

ing recruits. But it could do more. India’s rural workfare scheme

provides flexible employment to many women. But work is not

always available and pay often arrives late. The scheme should

also pay wages directly to women rather than to households. A

study by Erica Field of Duke University and her colleagues

showed that giving women control over their wages increased

their bargaining power with their husbands, which in turn won

them more freedom to work. There is the potential to initiate a

virtuous cycle. As more women in a district take jobs, their hus-

bands feel less shame about their wives’ departures from home

and hearth.

Despite the many obstacles they face, Indian women already

make striking contributions in many fields, including retail,

management, media and politics. India’s finance minister, Nir-

mala Sitharaman, has herself worked in all four. Her government

should try harder to clear a path for more women like her. 7