What connects the coups in Africa, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the rising tension in the Balkans?

In a new episode of Frontline, Bram Vermeulen makes the connection between all these crises and sees the image of a vulnerable and lonely Europe emerging. A continent where twenty years ago everyone wanted to belong, but which is becoming more and more isolated due to power changes and wars.

2023 was the year of coups across Africa against governments favorable to Europe. As the military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Sudan cut all ties with Europe, they opened the door wide to Russia, sending mercenaries and partnering with the juntas.

Not only do many African countries refuse to condemn Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, but many countries in South America and Asia continue to maintain warm ties with Moscow. Even closer to home, in the Balkans, Russia is stoking anti-European sentiment in Kosovo and the Serbian part of Bosnia.

The war in Israel and Gaza has further widened that divide between the West and the rest in 2023. While a majority of United Nations members are calling for a cease-fire, Western European governments like the Netherlands are clinging to the U.S. line of unconditional support for Israel.

Meanwhile, European countries are building ever higher fences against migrants from other continents, while their own industries are suffering from major labor shortages due to Europe's aging population. Frontline sees how the fences and deportations of African migrants go against the own economic interests of a lonely continent.

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