Long Reads: Burkina Faso’s Revolutionary Tradition w/ Bettina Engels

Burkina Faso is one of Africa’s poorest countries. But it has a powerful tradition of social movements and popular mobilization. In 2014, protesters brought down the regime of Blaise Compaoré, the man who had overthrown Thomas Sankara in the 1980s. Sankara has become an iconic figure in African politics since his death and remains a touchstone in Burkina Faso today.

The current leader of the country, Ibrahim Traoré, took power in a military coup in 2022. He became the world’s youngest head of state. Traoré has presented himself as the political heir to Sankara, engaged in a project of national renovation.

Bettina Engels joins Long Reads to discuss developments in Burkina Faso from the fall of Compaoré to the present. Bettina lectures in peace and conflict studies at the Free University of Berlin.

Read Bettina’s article for Jacobin, “Ibrahim Traoré Would Like to Be Thomas Sankara’s Heir”: https://jacobin.com/2026/09/ibrahim-traore-would-like-to-be-thomas-sankaras-heir

Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.