Stagnation in U.S.-Africa Military Policy after U.S. Servicemembers’ Deaths in Niger

Abstract

This article examines how events unfolded in the aftermath of the deaths of American servicemembers in Niger in 2017. It shows that there was remarkably little casualty aversion on the part of either the American public or the elites and examines why U.S. military policy towards Africa is so resistant to change, even when circumstances appear propitious.