French Interventions in the Sahel

Abstract

This chapter examines the impact of external actors in the Sahel, with a focus on the regional crisis since 2012 and the subsequent French and US interventionism. At first glance, France and the United States have been the key strategic actors in the crisis. These two countries have reshaped political and military dynamics, and convinced other states and international agencies to play a role in the crisis. Yet the stakes are very different for each, and certainly more strategic for the French given their military role via Operation Serval and Operation Barkhane. The chapter also discusses other countries that have regularly acted as gatekeepers for international policies in the Sahel and their regional rivalries. Algeria and Morocco have long rivaled each other for influence, and their competition is a determining element in shaping the international interventions and what are optimistically described as the “solutions” for the regional crisis. At the heart of the region itself, Burkina Faso has also played an important intermediary role at various stages.