Why coup in Niger matters: Uranium, France, & Russia using soft power+Wagner to build anti-West bloc

1 August 2023

The landlocked African nation of Niger, a US ally, saw its democratic government overthrown by a military coup last week. Could it be a coincidence that the coup came at the same time as the Africa-Russia Summit in St Petersburg, which Niger’s elected president skipped? In Ep 1282 of Cut The Clutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta explains for The Print why remote Niger matters, its uranium reserves, the West-Russia tug-of-war, and Africa as the new geopolitical playground. Velina Tchakarova’s analysis on Twitter was included in the episode.