A moral economy of pastoralists? Understanding the ‘jihadist’ insurgency in Mali

Abstract

In this article, we aim to understand the processes behind the recent jihadist uprising against the state in Mali. We use the analytical lens of ‘moral economy’ to see the values and ethics at stake among individuals who decided to join the jihadist rebellion. We combine this lens with a political ecology approach returning to the field's roots at the interface with peasant studies with a focus on moral economy and land dispossession. Widespread processes of dispossession in central and northern Mali have created a moral economic anger against rent-seeking elites that provided the foundation of the jihadist uprising. To detonate this anger, two jihadist leaders, Iyad Ag Ghaly and Hamadoun Koufa, have played key roles in mobilizing popular support emerging from local grievances, while drawing on social justice-based Islamic discourse and capitalizing on external support. The Tuareg and Fulani moral economic grievances have different origins, although for both groups a defence of pastoralism is at the core. When the uprising became ‘jihadist’ from 2012, and when the Fulani started to join, it became also attractive to the subordinate classes who saw the rebellion as an opportunity for social liberation. Frequent references to the Macina Empire of the 19th century as the golden period of Fulani pastoral power has also played a key role in the emergence of a narrative about pastoral resistance to a Bambara-dominated state.