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Debate “Mali: A New Battlefield in the War on Terror?”

Date of publication: December 2, 2021

Prague Centre for Middle East Relations (PCMR) of CEVRO Institute organized a debate “Mali: A New Battlefield in the War on Terror?”. The event took place on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 17:00-18:30 at the atrium of the CEVRO Institute (Jungmannova 17, Prague 1). Our distinguished guests were: 

  • Dr. Aly Tounkara, Director of the Centre for Security and Strategic Studies in Sahel and Researcher and Lecturer at the Université des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Bamako.
  • Jan Havránek, MALD, Deputy Minister for Defence Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic.

Our guests discussed contemporary security and geopolitical situation in Mali and the G5 Sahel countries in the context of the Czech and other European armed forces enagement in the region combating radical Islamists. The event was moderated by Vojtěch Bílý, researcher at the Center for Middle East Relations (PCMR).

Dr. Aly Tounkara is Director of the Centre for Security and Strategic Studies in Sahel and Researcher and Lecturer at the Université des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Bamako (ULSHB) and he authored numerous academic texts. He specializes in issues of radical Islamism and frequently comments for both local and international media. His research focuses on security issues in Sahel, political Islam and gender. He conducted numerous studies concerning religious extremism. Ha collaborates with a number of national and international NGOs in Africa.

Jan Havránek is currently serving as Deputy Minister for Defence Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. Until October 2020, he worked as policy advisor at Department of Analysis and Planning at Office of the NATO Secretary General in Brussels. In 2012-13 he served as Deputy Director of Defence Policy and Strategy Division and later as the Deputy of the First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic. In 2010-11, he served as Foreign Relations Advisor for Minister of Defence. He frequently delivers lectures at academic conferences on Transatlantic relations, European security, NATO and defence policies. In the past, Jan Havránek collaborated with a number of think-tanks, namely Prague Security Studies Institute, Association for International Affairs and Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. In 2013, he was awarded by Diplomatic Courrier among the 99 most influential persons below 33 years old in International Relations. He earned his master degree in International relations at Fletcher Schools of Law and Diplomacy in Boston in 2009.