Burkina Faso’s military junta dismantles democratic institutions amid neocolonial resource extraction and regional instability
Original framing: “People of Burkina Faso should forget about democracy, says military ruler” — The Guardian - World
Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) has experienced repeated cycles of military coups since independence in 1960, often tied to struggles over uranium wealth and French neocolonial control. The 2022 coup follows the 2014 popular uprising against Blaise Compaoré, who ruled for 27 years after assassinating Thomas Sankara in 1987—a leader who rejected IMF/World Bank structural adjustment and prioritized self-sufficiency. France’s Operation Barkhane (2014–2022) and its successor missions have failed to curb jihadist violence while exacerbating civilian casualties, fueling anti-Western sentiment. The junta’s rhetoric echoes Sankara’s critique of neocolonial democracy but reverses his emancipatory goals.
Burkina Faso’s crisis is not a rejection of democracy but a collapse of its neocolonial form, where elite power structures—bolstered by uranium extraction, IMF austerity, and French military interventions—have eroded public trust in institutions.
Traoré’s junta exploits this vacuum by framing democracy as a Western imposition, echoing Sankara’s critique of elite capture but reversing his emancipatory goals. The solution lies in reimagining governance through indigenous traditions (e.g., Mossi *mogho naba*, Fulani *laawol*) and regional solidarity, while severing the ties between mineral wealth and authoritarianism. Marginalized voices—women, pastoralists, youth—must lead this transformation, but their agency is stifled by both jihadist violence and junta repression. A systemic path forward requires decentralized power, uranium revenue sovereignty, and a security framework that prioritizes civilian protection over foreign geopolitics, breaking the cycle of coups and counter-coups that has defined Burkina Faso since independence.