On 23 August 2023, The Turkey Analyst published NESA Center regular speaker Professor Michaël Tanchum's article "The Niger Coup and Turkey’s Military Industrial Complex in Africa."

"The recent military coup in Niger marks the point of no return for the unraveling of France’s dominant economic and military influence across West Africa. Turkey is the foreign actor that stands to benefit most, with the potential to emerge as a leading strategic partner for the nations of the region. Turkey’s engagement with West Africa is a unique, dual approach that blends military and economic engagement while deftly intertwining humanitarian aid and cultural outreach. Ankara has already become a significant provider of weapons systems and military training while Turkish firms concurrently have been creating a commercial architecture of integrated manufacturing activity stretching from the Central Maghreb to coastal West Africa. As the interior territory within this architecture, the landlocked, Sahel nations of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, each now ruled by a military junta, present both challenges and opportunities for the advancement of Turkey’s ‘military industrial complex’ in West Africa," writes Tanchum.

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About the Author

Prof. Michaël Tanchum teaches international relations and political economy of the Middle East and North Africa at Universidad de Navarra, Spain. He is also senior fellow at the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) and a regular speaker at NESA Center seminars.

About the Publisher

The Turkey Analyst is a publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center, designed to bring authoritative analysis and news on the rapidly developing domestic and foreign policy issues in Turkey. It includes topical analysis, as well as a summary of the Turkish media debate.

The views presented in this article are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.