THE PROMULGATION OF INSTABILITY IN THE SAHEL REGION: POST GADHAFI ERA IN PERSPECTIVE (original) (raw)

Regional security complex: The Boko Haram menace and socio-economic development crises in the Sahel

Conflict, Security & Development , 2022

Regional development and stability in many parts of the Global South is threatened by violent conflicts-deep-rooted in complex 'geo-politico-economic challenges'. This reflects the causality of Boko Haram threats and security-development crises in the Sahel. To extrapolate the patterns of insecurity and their effects on peace and development in the region, a thematic analysis of empirical and secondary data was conducted using the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT). This expatiates on the role of actors, geopolitics (external) interventions, the environment, and resources in the Sahel's complex security-development milieu. The study deduced that escalation of conflicts and negative consequences of interventions exacerbate states' fragility and human insecurity, amidst displacement, destruction, and impairment of livelihoods and regional resilience capacities across the Sahel. Therefore, it recommends a holistic regional security-development mechanism, that is evidence-based, to sustainably address the root causes and effects of Sahel's insecurity and socioeconomic predicaments.

The Proliferation of Armed Non-State Actors in the Sahel: Drivers, Ramifications and the Way Forward

Journal of Central and Eastern European African Studies, 2022

The increase in the spate of insecurity in West Africa and the Sahel has assumed colossal proportions. Insecurity in the region is largely perpetuated by non-state actors that continue to rise in numbers and evolve in operations. Indeed, armed non-state actors pervade Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Nigeria. The proliferation of these armed nonstate actors constitutes a bane to the development of the region as it further subjects the region to extreme poverty, unprecedented humanitarian crisis and state fragility. This paper, therefore, examines how the mutually reinforcing challenges of climate change, bad governance, local militias, ungoverned space and poverty have necessitated the polarization of terror networks. This is done through the adoption of a qualitative approach and reliance on secondary sources of data such as textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, government reports, newspaper articles, online newspapers etc. The paper finds that governance is a critical driver and predictive element in the understanding of the proliferation of ANSAs. It concludes that ANSAs take advantage of poor governance to establish an informal governance system that adopts violence to maintain control whilst encouraging a shadow economy characterized by terrorism, kidnap for ransom, rivalry attacks and illegal activities. The paper, therefore, recommends the adoption of a framework of local governance characterized by responsive institutions, inclusive politics and resilient society.

Governance, Fragility and Insurgency in the Sahel: A Hybrid Political Order in the Making

The International Spectator , 2020

Once a region that rarely featured in debates about global security, the Sahel has become increasingly topical as it confronts the inter- national community with intertwined challenges related to climate variability, poverty, food insecurity, population displacement, trans- national crime, contested statehood and jihadist insurgencies. This Special Issue discerns the contours of political orders in the making. After situating the Sahel region in time and space, we focus on the trajectory of regional security dynamics over the past decade, which are marked by two military coups in Mali (2012 and 2020). In addressing state fragility and societal resilience in the context of increasing external intervention and growing international rivalry, we seek to consider broader and deeper transformations that can be neither ignored nor patched up through the framework of the ‘war on terror’ projected onto ‘ungoverned spaces’. Focusing espe- cially on the mobilisation of material and immaterial resources, we apply political economy lenses in combination with a historical sociological approach to shed light on how extra-legal governance plays a crucial role in the deformation, transformation and reforma- tion of political orders.

Causes and Consequences of Conflict in the African States: A Study of Libyan Crisis

International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Review, 2020

This paper analyses the causes and consequences of conflicts in Africa as a continent over the past decades. It focuses specifically on the crisis in Libya by revealing essential facts about the conflict. The objectives of the study were: to assess the impact of civil wars and interstate conflict on development, the effect of civil wars, and inter-state conflict on internal and regional stability. The study is a qualitative one in which data were sourced mainly from secondary sources such as journal articles, books, and reports. The theory of relative deprivation was adopted to explain how collective dissatisfaction results in political violence, as seen in Libya's case. Anger, which was created by frustration, is a motivating instrument that has inclined men to aggression. The study's findings show that the root causes of the Libya crisis are: Arab spring revolution, which spread through North Africa, weak national identity, and intervention of powerful nations. Furthermore...

Libya's Contemporary Instability and its Effect on Regional Stability: Africa as a Case

The subject of this paper examines the many risks that threatened the African coast and the Maghreb region, the explosion of disputes in the area and ultimately the fall of Muammar Gaddafi that has led to the instability of the entire coastal area, while the war in Libya adds more dismay to the scene and multiplies these risks [7]. The research reveals the indicators of how this space however, acts as a relatively safe haven for the network of international armed groups that find all the facilities needed for military training, recruiting fighters, carrying out assassinations, suicide bombings, suicide attacks and kidnappings, and building training camps. Additionally, the region is considered fragile in terms of security as illegal activities are easy to carry out, including arms trafficking, drugs, cars, and trafficking of persons. It is also possible to bury nuclear waste, form radical Islamist groups, illegal immigration, and money laundering. The paper attempt to analyze the instability in Libya and it's adverse effect on Africa's security and stability and factional roles being played by international actors. The study therefore concludes that, the contemporary problem of the lack of security in Libya negatively impacts the path to peace and stability and it seriously hinders the establishment of political and administrative institutions, which also contributes to the increase in crime and activities of radical groups in the region. The author among others recommend that the best outcome for Libya lies in reaching a negotiated power sharing agreement and a consensual political-economic way forward that could decisively 2 reverse the country's negative trajectory and put it on a pathway toward unity and prosperity.

Strategic Fight Against Terrorism: A Narrative of its Implication in the Sahel Region

International Journal of Engineering & Technology

This paper explores the major impediments to peace and widespread interest in Sahel violence and stability. It examines the expansion of violent extremism across the Sahel and the direct consequence of unrest across North Africa. It assesses worrisome development in the region’s security landscape as these violent extremist organizations grow and develop sophisticated networks. It discovers that these emerging threats can be illustrated by the unique challenges facing Libya, Mali, Nigeria, and other countries in the region. Hence the strategies and assistance of Major Powers in ensuring the security and stability of the Sahel region, as it goes well beyond terrorism. Methodologically, it employs the use of descriptive analysis relying solely on secondary information for data generation and articulation. The study therefore suggests among others that, rather than attempt to stifle regional conflicts through military intervention, Major Powers should encourage regional initiatives. Ma...

In the Shackles of Instability: Challenges of Operation Barkhane in the G5 Sahel Countries

Afrika Tanulmányok / Hungarian Journal of African Studies, 2022

Suffering from a multidimensional crisis, the Sahel has morphed into the new center of terror. In the past few years, it has become one of the most hazardous places in the world, which has negatively transformed the fragile states of the Western-African region. Emerging as a novel security policy challenge, the G5 Sahel countries – namely Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger – have found themselves stuck in a quagmire of different deep-rooted human security issues, which have placed their populations in a vicious circle of closely intertwined problems. Various influences threaten not just the security of residents and foreign actors but also the security of neighboring states. Different regional and international actors are trying to solve this complex crisis with varying levels of success. In this environment, in the shackles of instability, the presence of jihadist terrorist organizations and the operations of different rebel armed forces independent from governments po...