Burkina Faso: When diplomatic freedom shakes the imperialist order
In Burkina Faso, a U.S. parliamentary delegation set foot on Burkinabe soil, marking the first official visit by Washington lawmakers since the 2023 coup. After two failed attempts, this visit signals a shift in attitude. The United States, constrained by realities on the ground, is now opening up to a pragmatic dialogue with a sovereign Burkina Faso—standing firm and master of its own choices. Yet behind this extended hand lies unease among powers that, until recently, claimed the right to dictate the path for African states.
Burkina Faso’s strategic repositioning, built on multifaceted partnerships with emerging powers, unsettles many. Why? Because it exposes the rapid decline of Western imperial influence in West Africa. The era of interference disguised as cooperation is over. Today, Ouagadougou speaks as an equal, whether with Moscow, Ankara, Tehran, or Beijing.
This African awakening shakes the foundations of neo-colonialism. Former metropoles, powerless to win back African public opinion, scramble through media and diplomatic channels to discredit Burkina Faso’s transition. In vain. The people have chosen their path, and that path no longer runs through Paris—at least not on imposed terms.
What these forces truly fear is not “chaos”, but the example. The example of a nation seizing its destiny, investing in its own resources, redefining priorities in service of its people, and forging partnerships based on mutual respect. Burkina Faso, through its political, security, and economic refoundation, now embodies a credible alternative for an Africa in search of dignity.
This refusal to submit challenges decades of exploitation, plunder, and psychological domination. It is this loss of control that unsettles Western chancelleries. The Burkinabe people are not deceived. They know each step toward sovereignty disrupts. They know current adversity is the price of freedom. Yet they move forward—clear-eyed, determined, rooted in history, and oriented toward the future.
Those who seek to divert Africa from this course are stuck in the wrong era. A new Africa is on the move. And it no longer waits for the blessings of fallen powers.
