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Jean-Loup Samaan

Jean-Loup Samaan

Contributor
Abu Dhabi
Jean-Loup Samaan is a senior research fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore. Prior to that, he was an associate professor of strategic studies at the UAE National Defence College in Abu Dhabi. He writes regularly on security and defence affairs in the Middle East, the Sahel and the Indo-Pacific region.
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A convoy of French troops based in Niger prepare to leave the country on October 22. The objective of withdrawing 1,400 soldiers from Niger by December 31 was announced at the end of September by French President Emmanuel Macron. Reuters
The world must step up to help a troubled Sahel

France's troop withdrawal is unlikely to solve regional issues such as terrorist attacks and military rulers clinging to power

CommentOctober 31, 2023
Jean-Loup Samaan
Supporters of Niger's junta gather in front of the National Assembly in Niamey on Sunday. AFP
There's little West Africa, or the West, can do in Niger

The crisis is a symptom of a much larger problem affecting the Sahel

CommentAugust 04, 2023
Jean-Loup Samaan
Nigerien military officer Maj Col Amadou Abdramane, centre, delivers a televised statement in which he said soldiers "decided to put an end to the regime" of President Mohamed Bazoum. AFP
Niger's coup presents the West with a terrorism dilemma

President Mohamed Bazoum has been a major partner of western countries in the regional fight against extremism

CommentJuly 27, 2023
Jean-Loup Samaan
French President Emmanuel Macron inspects a military drone during a visit to Mont-de-Marsan air base, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south-western France, in January. EPA
Does France's new military budget really just offer a 'low-cost war economy'?

Defence spending will not be immune to the current climate of partisan politics in Paris

CommentApril 17, 2023
Jean-Loup Samaan
A Nigerien special forces soldier takes part in a US Africa Command annual special operations event in Jacqueville, Ivory Coast, this month. EPA
Will Niger get stuck on the Russia-West seesaw in the Sahel?

The West African nation has shown stability in an unstable part of the world, but long-term pressures remain

CommentMarch 24, 2023
Jean-Loup Samaan
The last French troops left Mali on August 15. AP
Is France's withdrawal from Mali the end of its 'forever war'?

Counterterrorism in the Sahel is still on Paris's agenda, but it needs new ways to pull it off

CommentAugust 17, 2022
Jean-Loup Samaan
Armoured personnel carriers belonging to UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon are parked in front of a poster showing Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah. AFP
Why the relatively calm Lebanon-Israel border is heating up again

After years of peace, Hezbollah seems to be stoking the fire - at Iran's behest

CommentAugust 23, 2021
Jean-Loup Samaan
The death of Abubakar Shekau, centre, is significant for the West Africa. AFP
What the Boko Haram leader's death means for the war against terror

West Africa will regain global attention if ISIS finds a way to recreate a proto-state in the region

CommentAugust 04, 2021
Jean-Loup Samaan
French soldiers from Operation Barkhane disembark from a US Air Force C130 cargo plane before transferring back to their bases in France. AP
How France's operation in the Sahel unravelled

Operation Barkhane is drawing to a close, even as violence in the region escalates

CommentJune 15, 2021
Jean-Loup Samaan
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a drone presentation on the deck of the French warship Dixmude in Toulon. Macron knows his country's place is that of a middle power. Reuters
France's defence strategy prepares for a messier world

The latest version of Paris's military strategy accounts for a less co-operative global order

CommentFebruary 02, 2021
Jean-Loup Samaan
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will struggle to get a consensus within Europe on how to deal with China. AP Photo
Nato's new 10-year strategy seems to be all about China

The Western military alliance has never cast Beijing in such a stark light before

CommentDecember 16, 2020
Jean-Loup Samaan
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had been Mali's president for seven years before he was removed from power in a coup last month. Reuters
Mali's French connection risks becoming tenuous

Paris will find it challenging to continue supporting the Malian army's counterrorism efforts while trying to nudge the junta to hand back power to the civilians

CommentSeptember 15, 2020
Jean-Loup Samaan
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg prepares to address European parliament foreign affairs committee members in January on the alliance's need to beef up its military training operation in Iraq once the government in Baghdad requests that it resume work. Francisco Seco / AP Photo
How Nato's Iraq expansion is a test for its Middle East plans

Buffeted by internal divisions and pressure from Washington, the Atlantic alliance's Middle Eastern objectives look uncertain

CommentFebruary 24, 2020
Jean-Loup Samaan
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, with Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. Rashed Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
The UAE's investment in Mauritania will help stabilise the wider sub-Sahara

Abu Dhabi is mindful that its contribution is not just through security measures but also long-term development

CommentFebruary 09, 2020
Jean-Loup Samaan
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, presents the Order of Zayed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. Rashed Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
India-Gulf ties are ready to soar

The elevation of India's political friendship with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman will determine the endurance of these partnerships

CommentJanuary 25, 2020
Jean-Loup Samaan
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