Misrule and misused foreign aid paved the way for the jihadist war by Isaline Bergamaschi While French and now African troops battle Islamist insurgents in Mali’s north, the government in the southern capital of Bamako plans to hold nationwide elections in July 2013. Will this latest stumble towards democracy succeed? Will it solve the problems that led to this impoverished country’s crisis — poor governance and more specifically, the squandering of its foreign aid? Since independence from France in 1960, Mali has suffered droughts, rebellions, two coups and 23 years of military dictatorship. After a free and fair election in…
