Ask the Experts: Coastal West Africa's Battle Against Violent Extremism

Sahelian violent extremism is exploding, and it is starting to spread to coastal West African states. Five nations in the region — Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Togo — have recently been included to the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability as a result of the failure of international attempts to halt the expansion. The focus of the strategy on good governance as a means of thwarting violent extremism, the necessity of ongoing coordination in the strategy's implementation, and the hope that this might inspire additional international support for peace and stability in Coastal West Africa were all topics of discussion between USIP's Andrew Cheatham and Ambassador Terence McCulley.