Sankarism

Sankarism (also written Sankaraism) is a term sometimes applied to denote a left-wing ideological trend within the political milieu of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, as well as the policies of the military regime led by Captain Thomas Sankara. Sankara came to power in what was then the Republic of Upper Volta in a 1983 military coup, and ruled until his assassination in a coup orchestrated by Blaise Compaoré in 1987.

There is a strong political dissonance between the movements which ascribe to Sankara's political legacy and ideals, a fact which the Burkinabé opposition politician Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara – no relation – described in 2001 as being "due to a lack of definition of the concept." The Sankarists range from communists and more moderate socialists to social democrats and populists.

During his time in power, Sankara – a well-known war veteran noted for his charisma – attempted to bring about what he called the "Democratic and Popular Revolution" (French: Révolution démocratique et populaire), a radical transformation of society. A number of organizations were formed to implement this revolution, among them the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the Popular Revolutionary Tribunals and the Pioneers of the Revolution. A vast number of reforms were enacted in the newly renamed Burkina Faso between 1983 and 1987, most of which were undone after the military coup which ousted and killed Sankara. Prior to his death, the Burkinabé government faced significant allegations of human rights abuses from Amnesty International and other international organizations, including extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions and torture of political opponents.

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