Interview with Dr Badié Hima: 'Critical minerals are the new face of global geopolitics'

In Accra, a high-level conference brought together experts and decision-makers around a sensitive topic: the governance of critical minerals and the conflicts they fuel in Africa. On the sidelines of the event, Dr Badié Hima, founding director of the MAT laboratory and former resident director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Togo and later Mali, offered his analysis of the power dynamics at play on the continent. A recognized specialist in democratic governance, Dr Hima states that critical minerals have become 'the new face of global geopolitics,' emphasizing the now central role these resources play in the international tensions affecting Africa. For African states rich in strategic resources, this analysis raises a crucial question: how can mineral wealth that attracts global attention be turned into a lever for development rather than a source of conflict and external interference? Dr Hima's background, straddling democratic governance and mining issues, invites us to read these tensions through a dual lens: the strength of local institutions in the face of external appetites, and the ability of African countries to collectively negotiate their position within global strategic mineral value chains.