The military putsch in Niger on 26 July, which ousted the democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum, is a pivotal event with local, regional and global consequences. Immediately, of course, it matters most in Niger itself and to its estimated 27 million inhabitants, whose average income per capita is among the lowest in Africa. Nevertheless, in an unstable multipolar world in which geopolitics and natural resources are umbilically linked, and in which climate damage and migration are intertwined too, Niger is inescapably also a pawn on larger boards.
Mr Bazoum, who was elected in 2021, had achievements to his name. The economy is growing by 6% this year. Girls’ education has been promoted. Fatalities from Islamist violence have fallen. His Niger was also a key western ally in the Sahel region, providing a base for campaigns against Islamist fighters and receiving around $2bn annually in development aid. Both France, the colonial power until 1960, and the US had more than 1,000 troops in Niger; Germany and Italy had smaller numbers. The US had a drone base near the Libyan border in the north.
