However, these coups have occurred specifically in Francophone African countries and have led to an intense backlash against that old colonial empire. So, is this a case of U.S. neocolonial aggression blowing back in the face of Western imperialism, creating a resurgence of the revolutionary potential of the region? Or is it a long-game maneuver between imperialist powers? Or is it something else entirely?

In order to begin understanding past and current developments in Africa, it is important to understand neocolonialism as a phase in the development of imperialism. The latter was briefly defined by one of its most well-known critics; V.I. Lenin called imperialism the “monopoly stage of capitalism.” As for neocolonialism, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah famously said that its essence consisted of “a state which is…, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty,” but which has, in reality, an “economic system and thus…political policy…directed from outside.”

For centuries, the people of Africa suffered under slavery, oppression, and exploitation by European colonialism. The European imperialist powers in 1885 at the Berlin Conference formally split the continent amongst themselves. They stole political and economic sovereignty away from the people of the continent without any voice in the matter. Through such colonial exploitation, the surplus value derived from the continent was exported to the colonizing nations.

This process enriched the European colonial powers at the expense of Africa as a whole, resulting in the condition of “underdevelopment,” which is in reality, as Michael Parenti described, the natural endpoint of over-exploitation.

Even after the independence movements of the mid-20th century, whole industries and mineral rights largely stayed in the hands of multinational monopolies and oligopolies based in the colonizing countries, essentially sustaining systematic exploitation in spite of national independence—a phenomenon known as neo-colonialism.

For example, all iron ore produced in the southern African nation of Swaziland after gaining political independence was owned by one company, the Swaziland Iron Ore Development Company (SIODC). Despite the nation’s nominal independence, the SIODC monopoly on iron ore production was jointly owned by U.S. and British capitalists.

Currently, the Switzerland-based commodity trading and mining company Glencore is the largest extractor of cobalt in the world, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has the largest depository. According to Bloomberg, even though Glencore’s effective monopoly in the Congo might be at an end soon due to growing investment from Chinese firms, it still has a stranglehold on the country and its natural resources.

These examples highlight the fact that the plundering of the African people and continent by Western imperialism is an ongoing colonial and genocidal project—it’s not merely past history.

The Sahel region saw intense revolutionary potential in the 20th century and was brutally repressed for decades as a result. The accumulation of oppression appears to have hit a class boiling point along with the developing geopolitical dynamics, creating a volatile situation across the region.

The people of the region have clearly had enough of neocolonial exploitation and perpetually being trapped in these crises. Are these coups directed against imperialism, and taking up the mantle of revolution? That remains to be seen, though the masses appear to have taken the streets in some cases, expressing support for the new governments. There have, of course, also been protests demanding the restoration of the incarcerated President Bazoum.

The class antagonisms under French and Western neocolonial control never brought about much economic improvement for millions of people in the region; instead, the working and oppressed people found that their quality of life only worsened over the past decades.

The military training by the coup leaders from the U.S. may yet prove to be another case of foreign policy blowback. There have been many coups before these, but none have successfully removed the presence of French influence and resisted U.S. neocolonialism. Has such a process of national liberation begun? That remains to be seen.

Neither the coup nor the suspension of constitutional processes is an ultimate solution to Niger’s desperate situation, but a continuation of the situation in Niger before the coup, as one of the most destitute and impoverished sovereign nations in the world, was also completely untenable.

But one thing is certain: Western imperialism requires a subjugated Africa in order to sustain itself. Only time will tell if neocolonial repression will strike again, or whether the people of Africa will be able to finally retake their full sovereignty.

For onlookers living outside of Africa, it is clear that however the situation develops, it is more imperative than ever that the spirit of international solidarity be placed first and foremost. The urgent needs of the people of Niger must be addressed; suspension of authentic food and humanitarian aid will not help Nigeriens. True aid should not be used as a tool of punishment by Western powers.

Any attempt by imperialist forces—either the U.S. or France—to intervene militarily must be resisted, as such interference would likely serve as a precursor to civil war and further conflict. Working and oppressed people of the world must stand united in pursuit of peace and justice—in Africa and for all mankind. (People’s World — IPA Service)