The Sahel and the Malian crisis (original) (raw)

The regional impact of the armed conflict and French Military Intervention in Mali

Despite the perceived threat to international peace and security presented by the crisis in Mali, the international community did not act to resolve it for nearly ten months, which allowed Islamists to militarily take control of the whole of northern Mali and impose sharia law. The French military intervention in Mali placed the country at the top of the international political agenda. But the conflict in Mali and the French intervention have wider implications not only for Mali and its neighbours, but also for Africa, the international community, and France's national security and strategic interests at home and abroad.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS CONSEQUENCES OF MALI’S CRISIS

The French intervention has created a totally new situation on the ground and generated effects and consequences of various natures, in particular in respect of what they tell us about the current structure and working of the international system and the respective roles of States versus Multilateral or Regional Organizations. This note explores the manner in which the French intervention took place and the logic in the action of international actors, in particular France, the EU, the US, the African Regional Organizations and the UN, when intervening in the Mali crisis.

Mali and the Sahel-Sahara: From Crisis Management to Sustainable Strategy

2013

During the first half of 2012, military officers deposed the Malian president in Bamako, Tuareg rebels declared the independent state of Azawad of northern Mali, and Islamist extremists subsequently imposed sharia law in the region. Now, nearly one year later, national, regional, and international actors have begun crisis management in earnest. France's armed intervention to expel Islamist fighters from northern Mali in January 2013 and the seizure of an Algerian gas field by Islamic militants have focused international attention on the crisis in Mali and the broader Sahel-Sahara region and created an urgent need for action that was previously lacking. IPI owes a debt of gratitude to its many donors for their generous support. In particular, IPI would like to thank the Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the United Nations for making this publication possible.

The Dilemmas of international intervention in Mali

This is a report of the Centre Francopaix's "Stabilizing Mali" research project. Its goal is to identify the obstacles, challenges and dilemmas facing the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali. Some have noted the deficiencies of its action and particularly its inability to ensure security, stability and even its own protection. Others have criticized its so-called “robust” posture which is argued to undermine its impartiality. The tension is thus between those demanding the means to fully assume this robust posture, and those who criticize this posture as falling outside the mandate of UN peacekeeping missions. Ultimately, however, it is the war against terrorism perspective that weakens MINUSMA’s impartiality and thus its authority as an impartial actor and guarantor of the peace process.

Conflict and Stabilisation in Mali and the Sahel Region

The report covers factors including: Islamist terrorism; criminal networks and trafficking (of arms, drugs, cigarettes, and vehicles); and Tuareg rebellions against the Malian government. It also considers state weakness, including the weakness of state security structures in the north, and the role of neighbouring countries, ECOWAS, the AU and other international actors. Practical recommendations in the literature include: Adopt a burden-sharing and a multi-tiered approach that builds on the strengths of different actors Support livelihoods and integrate Tuareg concerns over land and livelihood opportunities through inclusive political engagement Seek to weaken incrementally the criminal networks in Mali's north through coherent international support for regional cooperation Establish a common position on ransom payments Consider joint anti-terrorism and development policies aiming to strengthen the state's operational capacity to deliver security and development Draw on traditional conflict-management mechanisms, such as inter-community and inter-clan solidarity systems Be sensitive to historical tensions between the Hausa and Tuareg ethnic groups.

The Malian crisis and the challenge of regional security cooperation

Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, 2013

The weakness of regional security cooperation has been a key factor in the gradual destabilization of the Sahel-Sahara region over the past decade. While organized crime, extremist activity, and cross-border movements of arms and fighters have strengthened linkages among non-state actors in the region, state policies have failed to keep up. With the escalation of the crisis in Mali, West African states have adopted an approach diverging strongly from that of Mali’s North African neighbours. Western governments’ tendency to understand insecurity in the region through the notion of the Sahel has compounded the problem. Insecurity in the region, including criminal and extremist networks, is more Saharan than Sahelian in scope. North African states are part of the problem, and need to be part of the solution. A new framework for regional cooperation is needed – and while this can only be established on the initiative of regional states themselves, external actors need to adapt their policies to help such a framework emerge.