A few months ago a multinational, interdisciplinary team of scholars assembled to write a comprehensive analysis on the Malian crisis. The team comprised of eight researchers specializing in diverse aspects of Mali’s populations and their history. contributed to this project. These are Baz Lecocq, Gregory Mann, Bruce Whitehouse, Dida Badi, Lotte Pelckmans, Nadia Belalimat, Bruce Hall and Wolfram Lacher.

This publication is the most holistic, wide-ranging scholarly attempt so far which tries to explain recent events in Mali. It will be published later this year by the Journal Review of African Political Economy, the editors of which have authorized us to make it available in the meantime. Our introduction can be read in the 10,000-word Editors’ Cut.

* This paper is an extended version of an article to appear in the Review of African Political Economy vol. 137 (2013) under the title “One Hippopotamus and Eight Blind Analysts: A multivocal analysis of the 2012 political crisis in the divided Republic of Mali.” When citing details presented in this paper which do not appear in the definitive form in ROAPE 137, please refer to this paper under the formal title with “Extended Editors Cut” added and give the URL where you found it; for all other citations please refer to the final version in ROAPE 137 under its title.