Nina Wilen

The bear and the bot farm: Countering Russian hybrid warfare in Africa Russia has many quiet enemies in Africa. Working together, like-minded Africans and Europeans can roll back its troublesome influence.

The..ideologies which #Russia..harness, like #Pan-Africanism, #sovereigntism & anti-neocolonialism, are not illegitimate...But..can be used against the..Russians, who, in the 21st century..seek personal enrichment from the plunder of..African nations"
#Africa #Sahel #Europe
ecfr.eu/publication/...

📄𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 by @ninawilen.bsky.social‬
@egmontinstitute.bsky.social
@oxfordacademic.bsky.social

"Securitizing the Sahel: Analysing External Interventions and their Consequences"

#SecurityForceAssistance #Securitization #PeaceOperations #CivilMilitary

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 👉 tinyurl.com/bdfpf7cc

Introduction: Security Force Assistance in the Sahel Abstract. The introductory chapter situates security force assistance (SFA) in the Sahel within broader debates on military interventions, external securit

➡️Want to read my book "Securitizing the #Sahel"?

@oupacademic.bsky.social has made the introductory chapter available here until 10 November!

It outlines the main argument & structure of the book!

#Niger #Burkina #Mali #military #security #Barkhane #EUCAP #EUTM

academic.oup.com/book/61385/c...

Interview about the difficulty of reconciling unrealistic #political objectives with the #operational reality

#Sahel #military

"The #military never wins the #war. We were incapable to do it with 6,000, but even if we had had 60,000 we could never have won the war, and we repeated it, repeated it, repeated it."

Interview #Barkhane officer

#Sahel #Mali #Niger #Burkina #France
global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Déclaration d’INSO concernant nos activités au Burkina Faso et la détention continue de notre personnel. | International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO)

INSO endure une situation épouvantable au Burkina depuis juillet, qui empire encore aujourd'hui. Soutien et courage à leurs équipes

Thank you Yvan!

This is a fantastic achievement. Congrats, Nina, for producing the most comprehensive book to date on the foreign intervention in the Sahel. What makes this work so precious, among other things, is the unique body of evidence it relies on, collected year after year in multiple Sahelian countries

"Our commander told us to lie about the results…We had to make it a success…On paper we trained 800 soldiers during 6 months. But you don’t have 800 soldiers trained if you have 15 Kalashnikovs, no equipment & they all turned up in sandals"

#EUTM #Mali
global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Russia’s Ambitious Plans in Africa Are Unraveling Not long ago a rising military force in Africa, Russia is now struggling to maintain its footprint on the continent.

"#Military juntas in #Mali, #Niger & #Burkina Faso..are now experiencing “buyer’s remorse” after ousting #US & French troops...Pentagon strategists..hope to sideline the Russians & get back into the West #African security business."

#Russia #Sahel #France #jihadist

www.wsj.com/world/africa...

📆 More on the book, its content & people to thank 🤩 in a month when the print version comes....!

👉 Look at that! 😊

Today the electronic version of my book:

⭐ "Securitizing the #Sahel. Analysing External #Interventions and their Consequences"⭐

is published on-line with @oxunipress.bsky.social!

#security #defense #military #Niger #Mali #Burkina #Chad #France #UN #EU #US

📄𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 by @ninawilen.bsky.social
@egmontinstitute.bsky.social

“The Cost of Forgetting Africa in Security Strategy”

#Africa #Security #Geopolitics #EUdefence

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 👉 tinyurl.com/mr226je2

✍️ Dans @lalibre.be aujourd’hui, j’alerte: #Europe & #Belgique ne doivent pas oublier #Afrique dans les débats sur la #sécurité & #défense

-Expansion #djihadiste 300%
-Influence #Russie #Chine
-Croissance démographique → impact inévitable sur l’Europe

#foresight
www.lalibre.be/debats/opini...

UN Slams 'Deepening Crackdown' In Junta-run Mali UN rights chief Volker Turk on Thursday slammed the indefinite suspension of elections in Mali and the junta-run country's "deepening crackdown" on civil society.

#UN rights chief..slammed the indefinite suspension of #elections in #Mali and the #junta-run country's "deepening crackdown" on civil society...since April alone, there had been hundreds of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests & detentions"

www.barrons.com/news/un-slam...

"For centuries, the maps used to understand the world have distorted Africa’s size compared to most northerly nations...
".#Africa is about 3 times larger than #Canada & more than 1,5 the size of #Russia"

www.reuters.com/graphics/AFR...

Least #Europe forgets... #Africa is currently witnessing the fastest growing jihadist expansion in the world:

"Nearly half of the fatalities (10,685) in the past year have been in the #Sahel."

africacenter.org/spotlight/en...

Mercenary Meltdown - The Sentry August 2025 Download the full report The first Wagner Group fighters arrived in Bamako in January 2022 to assist the Malian military junta in its counterterrorism campaign. Three and a half years late...

Excellent examination of #Wagner in #Mali showing increasing tensions:

"Wagner fighters often operate outside the chain of command, use FAMA equipment without permission"

"Wagner...display racist behavior toward the FAMA"

#Russia #Sahel
thesentry.org/reports/merc...

Dans les pays du Sahel, les juntes en échec face aux djihadistes En kiosques // par Nina Wilén (septembre 2025)

In my latest for @monde-diplomatique.fr, I'm painting a bleak picture of the #security & #political situation in the #Sahel:

- #Jihadist expansion
- #authoritarian rule entrenched
- #Russia #Turkey #Gulf states increasing influence

#Niger #Mali #Burkina
www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2025/09/WILE...

Small State, Big Impact: Rethinking Malawi's Role in UN Peacekeeping Through the ‘Peacekeeping Army’ Framework (1994–2024) Malawi's contributions to United Nations peacekeeping have historically been underexplored, overshadowed by the focus on larger or more visible African troop contributors. This paper addresses that...

Sharing my research article "Small State, Big Impact: Rethinking Malawi's Role
in UN Peacekeeping Through the ‘Peacekeeping
Army’ Framework (1994–2024)"

@ninawilen.bsky.social @nupinytt.bsky.social
@intpeacekeeping.bsky.social
@tandfresearch.bsky.social

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

🎧 Would you like to delve deeper into global matters with experts from the @egmontinstitute.bsky.social ?

Listen to our #podcast “Global Affairs Unpacked” on Spotify!

@ninawilen.bsky.social @atjmattelaer.bsky.social #SvenBiscop

#internationalrelations #thinktank

👉 tinyurl.com/egmontpodcast

Russia Wants To Mine Niger's Uranium, Energy Minister Says Russia wishes to mine uranium in Niger, a top source of the radioactive metal ruled by a military junta friendly to the Kremlin, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev has said.

"'Our task is not only to participate in #uranium #mining, but to create an entire system for the development of civil nuclear power in #Niger,"...official Russian statement...."

#Sahel #resources #minerals #Russia #France

www.barrons.com/news/russia-...

I was interviewed for this article in @FDNewsOfficial about #Russia's influence in the #Sahel & West #Africa more broadly, with some telling infographics

#Europa kijkt met argusogen naar toenemende Russische invloed in de #Sahel

fd.nl/politiek/156... #FD #Politiek

Rwanda and Russia look to lock in influence as CAR’ president eyes another term Kigali and Moscow expected to back re-election of Faustin-Archange Touadéra as they seek to shield strategic interests

"Wagner operatives who focus on #gold & #diamond mines..complain to #CAR.. that despite assuming greater #combat risks..they receive similar economic privileges as the Rwandans"

#Russia fighting for influence in #Africa against #Rwanda

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

🖊️Ravi de participer à la Revue de #Defense nationale avec ma contribution intitulée :

«La chute de la #Cédéao et l’ascension de l’#AES : une nouvelle architecture de sécurité en #Afrique de l’Ouest»

avec 🌟- auteurs comme @maudinet.bsky.social

www.defnat.com/sommaires/so...

➡️ Les États de l’ #AES optent pour un multi-alignement, malgré leur posture anti-occidentale

🔑 De l’espace existe pour une réengagement européen — mais avec lucidité sur la fiabilité des partenaires

💰 Or, pétrole, uranium restent des enjeux majeurs

🔹 #Chine : logique économique, sécuriser ressources

🔹 #Turquie : équilibre entre drones et infrastructures, 3e voie entre Ouest et non-Ouest

🔹 Golfe : puissance financière via aide, commerce, religion ( #Qatar, #EAU, #ArabieSaoudite)

Un renforcement de l’engagement au Sahel : la Russie, la Chine, la Turquie et les États du Golfe Cet article s’intéresse à l’évolution des partenariats avec des acteurs non occidentaux dans le Sahel, en mettant l’accent sur le Mali, le Burkina Faso et le Niger. Il analyse les grandes lignes de la...

🧵Nouvel article dans @lerubicon.bsky.social

J’analyse la montée des acteurs non occidentaux au #Sahel ( #Mali, #Niger, #BurkinaFaso) ⬇️

🔹 #Russie : influence sécuritaire limitée, alimentée par l’instabilité + désinformation

📖 À lire ici 👉 lerubicon.org/un-renforcem...

JNIM : son but, sa stratégie et ses sources de financement – DW – 04/07/2025 Ce qu'il faut savoir au sujet du JNIM, le groupe djihadiste qui a revendiqué les attaques dans l'ouest du Mali.

J’ai été interviewé par @news.dw.com concernant les attaques coordonnées par #JNIM au #Mali
- JNIM gagne du controle & territoire au #Sahel

- JNIM gagnant des atrocités de #FAMA & troupes #Russes contre civiles = délegitimisent l’Etat & ⬆️ recrutement

amp-dw-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.dw.c...

Worth reading this excellent analysis of #JNIM from 2023 by #GI-TOC & #ACLED after the recent attacks in #Mali
#Sahel West #Africa #jihadism

globalinitiative.net/analysis/non...