Mining Sector Neocolonialism in the Alliance of Sahel States

The article touches upon the practical aspects of the consolidation of neocolonialism as the dominant political-economic practice in the mining sector of the Alliance of Sahel States. Modern neocolonialism in the region covers all spheres of mining: rare, uranium, ferrous, non-ferrous, rare-earth metals – most of them are extracted by large transnational corporations, which are not always interested in establishing conditions for the resolution of social and economic problems in the region. This creates a contradiction between the sovereignty of the three Sahel states (in particular, sovereignty as the provision of public goods) and the profit-making of foreign TNCs from access to natural resources. Despite state opposition to neocolonial practices in the mining sector, international TNCs largely maintain their own production enclaves with stable access to water and other infrastructure separate from the state and local population in need.

Africa, Alliance of Sahel States, mining industry, neocolonialism, mineral extraction