Across the Sahel region, there has been a noticeable rise in sentiments of pan-African and anti-Imperialist unity, in large part led by Burkina Faso’s head of state, Ibrahim Traoré. After gaining power in a coup d’état which overthrew président Kaboré in 2022, Traoré has captured the hearts and minds of many, who seek to move toward an African continent defined not by former colonial powers and the Western bloc, but by historical, political and cultural agency. In an effort to situate African identity in time, history and space, Traoré has come to embody a victorious figure of resistance to the informal system of French neo colonial influence: Francafrique. Moreover, Traoré’s regime isn’t only rejecting formal ties to its former colonial ruler, France, but also exploring alternative partnerships and development models amid shifting power dynamics.
MOULDING A NEW LANDSCAPE
Since 2022, Traoré’s government has focused on developing an economic model rooted in national self-sufficiency through local resources and inter-African cooperation, rejecting international conditionalities imposed by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the World Bank (WB). Indeed, these models often function by means of loans, resulting in economic development at the expense of local communities and further indebting the country. To that effect, Traoré nationalized Burkina Faso’s mining assets and established state-owned mining companies, directly reversing decades of liberalized, internationally-dominated extractive industries. Traoré’s recent policies require foreign firms to offer a share of 15% of their local operations in order to transfer crucial skills to Burkinabé people. Traoré is thus ensuring that the population benefits from its mineral wealth, and establishing national gold reserves for the first time in the country’s history is a shift he defines as ‘revolutionary’.
Of course, nationalisation isn’t risk-free. The state-owned oil company NNPC in Nigeria provides an example of a nationalised sector that became vulnerable to corruption and largely inefficient due to a lack of rigorous structures and control. A 2022 Transparency International report shows that the NNPC has faced a number of criticisms regarding the opaqueness of its revenue flows and mismanagement, which have overall undermined its delivery of widespread benefits. Although it may be too early to assess the impact in Burkina Faso, similar concerns apply to whether state-run industries will promote sustainable growth, accountability and local innovation.
The shift has also been followed by a rejection of former colonial powers - all French troops were withdrawn from the territory in January 2023. Instead, Traoré has engaged in new alliances with non-Western powers such as Russia, diversifying security and economic alliances and challenging the idiosyncrasy of Western influence. However, close ties with powers such as Russia can equally raise concerns. Some allegations speak to the risk of encouraging anti-democratic tendencies or repeating new forms of dependency by leaning on authoritarian partners.
Nonetheless, such changes have ignited hope for a self-determined and independent African future. Traoré’s recent policies reflect a broader pan-African and anti-Imperialist sentiment that has begun to grow across the Sahel region over the past few months.
ABANDONING FRANÇAFRIQUE
Traoré’s policies reflect Thomas Sankara’s revolutionary legacy in Burkina Faso: rejecting foreign contingencies, fostering and promoting local production and deepening regional solidarity. Sankara’s assasination in 1987 - with French complicity - is a reminder of the threats global South leaders face when they resist neo-colonial systems.
In light of this, one begins to question the intentions behind the system that is FranceAfrique. A term employed to describe France’s continued economic, political and military influence over its former African colonies post independence, it has been strongly criticized for harboring neocolonial values and strategies. African nations remain dependent on France through trade, resource extraction and control of currency through the CFA franc. It has been known to support authoritarian regimes favorable to French interests and often involves covert interventions, military presence and political manipulation in order to undermine African sovereignty and maintain French dominance. Overall it is a system that has been questioned for perpetuating inequality, corruption and neo imperialism under the guise of cooperation and alliance.
By advocating for local industry growth and economic diversification and seeking to abandon the CFA franc system, Traoré is challenging a crucial pillar of French economic control over the region. Moreover, fostering ties with African regional blocs and other nations such as Russia and Turkey, Traoré is slowly diluting France’s exclusive influence and instead establishing alternative sources of investment and support. With French military troops being pushed back, Burkina Faso is asserting its agency in security matters and rejecting France as ‘protector’.
POLITICAL AUTONOMY AND REGIONAL UNITY
Pan-Africanism was born in the late 19th and early 20th century in the diaspora as a movement uniting all African people in a common struggle against colonialism, racism and imperialism. Thinkers and activists such as Edward Wilmot Blyden and W.E.B Du Bois laid its intellectual foundations - Traoré’s politics reflect their vision of a global united African continent. His government in fact pushes for African unity through the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Through this he emphasizes solutions led by African nations rather than French (or other foreign-led) interventions. ECOWAS in particular, as one of Africa’s most active influential regional bloc, encourages regional collaboration on matters of trade, governance and security.
Traoré’s government has equally extended this approach to humanitarian action. For instance, it has signalled a penchant for locally-led responses to humanitarian questions in the country as well as regionally integrated solutions across the Sahel by pushing aid organisations to work closely with communities to avoid creating long-term dependency.
Du Bois famously said ‘there is but one way to escape the ghetto of race the Western World has bound us. We must band together’. Traoré’s policies embody this powerful sentiment by advancing a vision of a self-determined African continent which functions through inter-cooperation and regional solidarity. It challenges old (North-South) power dynamics and promotes a new global order wherein African nations reclaim agency and complete independence from the restraints of Western imperialism.
A NEW CHAPTER FOR THE SAHEL REGION
With growing concerns in the international community about the effectiveness of the current global world order wherein former colonial powers continue to hold a significant amount of political and economic power over most global South countries, the case of Burkina Faso is one example of how some nations in the Sahel are seeking alternative approaches to develoment based on localisation and less dependency from the global North. Leaders like Traoré reflect a growing pushback against neocolonial systems such as FrancAfrique - countries in the region may increasingly reject outside interference particularly from former colonial powers. Economic sovereignty and diversification could signal a reduction of Western aid and military presence inside these nations and could potentially spark a pan-African renaissance through regional integration and locally driven development models.
Ibrahim Traoré’s leadership in Burkina Faso has become a prime example of how the Sahel’s new generation of visionaries are reimagining and moulding their position in the global word order. By promoting policies rooted in economic self-reliance, sovereignty and pan-African solidarity, Traoré is resisting the legacy of FrancAfrique and other Western interventions that have shaped the nation's (and the region’s) functioning and future. His vision highlights the necessity for African nations, and the global South more broadly, to assert their agency in a shifting international system. This bold break from the past indicates a persuasive and resonant desire to cast off old shackles of dependency and to forge a future defined on the Burkinabé people’s own terms.
Burkina Faso’s development could evolve along several trajectories. If Traoré’s approach is successful, it could inspire a wave of Pan-African cooperation and regional self-determination. Alternatively, reliance on new powerful partners or excessively centralised sectors may foster risks such as corruption, exclusion and repression. Concerning humanitarian actors and policymakers, the challenge will involve engaging productively with this pivoting landscape by supporting local agency while remaining attentive to new vulnerabilities
References
Aikins, E. R., ‘In Burkina Faso, Traoré’s legacy could extend beyond popularity and promises’, Institute for Security Studies, 24 April 2025
Africa Briefing, ‘Burkina Faso opens first state bank under junta leadership’, Africa Briefing, 2 August 2024
Bakala, T. A., ‘The Franc CFA and the Bank of Central African States: For or against the Status Quo?’, Open Journal of Social Sciences, 12 (3), 340-359
Transparency International. (2012, July). Transparency International calls on the Nigerian government to step up its fight against corruption in the oil sector. Press release. Transparency.org.
Transparency International. (2023). Corruption Perceptions Index 2022
Gritsenko, E., & Mozard, T. K. O. (2023). Anti-French Sentiment in African Media Discourse. Available at SSRN 4616216.