A new mood has gripped the areas of northern Africa where France once wielded colonial rule. From Algeria to Burkina Faso, France’s military and economic dominance in the region is being questioned. Most recently, Mali has banned the activities of French NGOs in the country. How should we understand this trend? While the French blame Russia, at the heart of the issue are growing strains in the transatlantic alliance as the US and UK supplant France’s military presence in Africa.

The only advance made at this year’s COP27 climate summit was the creation of a ‘loss and damage fund’ for ‘vulnerable countries’. Given that prior pledges have yet to be met, it remains to be seen whether this funding will be realised. More important than these inadequate financing promises, however, is concrete action towards a low-carbon global economy. Millions of plant and animal species, such as the orangutan, are threatened with extinction in the face rampant deforestation, mining, and extraction.

Over the years, based on interviews with movement leaders from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, our team at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research has begun to develop our own methodology of activist research, a methodology to build knowledge out of praxis. We develop our analysis from the wisdom that political and social movements have accumulated over the years because we believe that those who struggle to change the world have a certain clarity about the structures that define it.

Today, humanity is at risk because of senseless social inequality, attacks on the environment, and an unsustainable consumption pattern in rich countries that is imposed on us by capitalism and its profit-seeking mentality. However, advancing the organisations and agenda of the left, as seen with Lula’s victory in Brazil, provides hope for our chance to save humanity and the planet. For this we must have the courage to implement, on a global level, concrete and urgent measures.

The new US foreign policy strategy for Africa featured 10 mentions of China and Russia combined but did not once mention the term ‘sovereignty’. Meanwhile, at its annual summit NATO named Africa as part of its ‘southern neighbourhood’. Through its Africa Command (AFRICOM), the US already has 29 military bases on the continent.