Mauritania

Abstract

Political instability, military rule, and Islamist terrorist threats have been recurrent challenges in Mauritania. Yet the country recently underwent its first electoral transfer of power after a president completed two elected terms in office, and it is the only country in the Sahel region not to have experienced a deadly terrorist attack since 2011. U.S. engagement has expanded since the early 2000s, as regional security threats have grown, and as U.S. officials have come to see Mauritania as an able counterterrorism partner. U.S. firms also have interests in Mauritanias growing offshore natural gas production. Human rights concernsparticularly regarding the enduring practice of hereditary slaveryand military coups in 2005 and 2008 have nonetheless constrained bilateral ties.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 03, 2020
Accession Number
AD1099593

Entities

People

  • Alexis Arieff

Organizations

  • Congressional Research Service

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Congress
  • Counterterrorism
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Law
  • Mauritania
  • Natural Gas
  • Political Systems
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • West Africa

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Riverine Ecology