Sometimes, superpowers have a hard time getting smaller allies to do what they want with the assistance they provide. Often, it is to the detriment of the larger power’s interests.
The United States has faced a fair bit of this in recent decades. In Africa, U.S. partners Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso have diverted U.S. security assistance and training intended for counterterrorism toward suppression of political opponents, or for military coups that undermined human rights and only increased the risk of terrorism.
