FRANCE'S MILITARY PRESENCE IN MALI: STRUCTURAL POWER OF THE SUB-EMPIRE OF THE «COLLECTIVE WEST»

The French military presence in Mali is considered in the context of other instruments of the first-level structural power (according to Suzan Strange) - in the fields of economics and law (OHADA), finance (CFA zone), distribution of knowledge (France 24 and TV5 Monde). It is shown that the former metropolitan power itself acts as a sub-empire of the «collective West» led by the United States with its own zone of influence (French-speaking African countries), and its potential is complemented by Western structural power (NATO, OECD, Bretton Woods Institutions, etc.). However, it is the military factor, including regular operations in Africa, that acts as the most important tool of French influence on the continent. The article examines the system of bilateral agreements in the military sphere between France and Mali, but the focus is on the current stage of development of the situation in the Sahel: the events after the overthrow of M. Gaddafi, when jihadist activity intensified in the region, in response to which the French operations Serval and Barkhane were launched. The phenomenon of France's «situational multilateralism» in the field of security and peacekeeping is being investigated, when the UN forces (MINUSMA), the EU forces (EUTM Mali, EUCAP Sahel, Takuba) and local actors (G5 Sahel) become its partners in the implementation of operations depending on the situation. At the first stage of the intervention, France and its partners managed to somewhat stabilize the situation, but the further build-up of the military component did not lead to a clear improvement in the situation. In the current circumstances, the military leadership of Mali has bet on the withdrawal of France from the country and on the search for new security allies, primarily Russian assistance. At the same time, other instruments of French structural power remain in place.