African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.
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Following the presidential elections in July, the country returned to constitutional rule. Although the election results were contested by the majority of the opposition candidates, foreign governments quickly acknowledged the elected president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, as the winner. He could rely on a comfortable majority in the National Assembly, where a new party under the banner of ‘Union pour la République’ had 83 out of 151 members. The return to constitutional rule led to improved relations with most Western powers, which had either frozen or threatened to freeze aid in response to the military coup of the previous year. Spain and France considered Mauritania as a key partner in their strategies to reduce illegal immigration and combat terrorist activities. The Bush administration in the US had been particularly critical about the military junta but accepted the outcome of the elections and resumed anti-terrorism co-operation immediately, as did NATO. Relations with China, now Mauritania's largest trading partner, became closer. Mining, fisheries and oil continued to dominate the industrial sector. The rural sector, vulnerable to climatic conditions, especially drought, was estimated to employ 40% of the labour force. The global economic crisis and the resulting drop in world market prices affected the economy. As a consequence of the political stalemate, the business climate deteriorated and the country was ranked 166 out of 183 countries on the World Bank's Doing Business report. The potential threat posed by the regional terrorist group, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), continued to increase. Proceeds from tourism remained depressed as a consequence of this, as well as of the economic crisis in Europe.