Djibouti has monetized its strategic location near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, hosting the world’s densest cluster of foreign military bases. The US, China, France, Japan, and Italy pay tens of millions annually to operate out of the small nation, primarily to secure global maritime trade routes and internet infrastructure. President Ismail Omar Guelleh has utilized these military leases not just for revenue, but to secure massive infrastructure loans and cement his own political longevity. However, ordinary Djiboutian citizens lose out as wealth remains concentrated, with a high unemployment rate of nearly 40%. While Iran’s war and Houthi disruptions have made Djibouti even more strategically indispensable at this moment, recent developments, including Israel’s engagement with neighboring Somaliland, threaten Djibouti’s “base-for-cash” model by leading to the building of rival bases. This, combined with escalating regional wars, risks destabilizing Djibouti.
Al Jazeera
