Rethinking External Interventions in the Sahel’s Conflict and Governance Crisis

Soldiers manning a technical vehicle in the shale region. Source: Global Strategy. 

Author: Jamaldeen Oluwasegun Akanbi.  Research Fellow, African Governance Institute for Development.  Publisher: Fulcrum Analytics.

The Sahel region, stretching across Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and parts of Sudan, has become one of Africa’s most politically fragile and externally contested zones. While environmental stressors such as desertification,    drought, and dwindling resources underpin the region’s instability, the decisive role of foreign interventions, particularly by France, has shaped governance, legitimacy, and sovereignty in profound ways. Over the past decade, foreign-led military responses have attempted to contain terrorism and insurgency but have inadvertently deepened structural fragilities. This article critically examines the implications of such interventions, arguing that the Sahel’s crisis cannot be sustainably resolved through externally driven security paradigms. Instead, a shift toward African-led governance, regional cooperation, and self-determined peacebuilding is essential.

Climate Pressures and the Governance Vacuum

Environmental degradation is a fundamental, though often underestimated, driver of insecurity in the Sahel. The region’s climate variability, manifested in desertification, erratic rainfall, and resource scarcity, has intensified competition over land and water (Benjaminsen & Ba, 2021). This scarcity has contributed to recurring clashes between pastoralists and sedentary farmers, eroding traditional conflict-resolution systems and exposing the weakness of local governance institutions. As state capacity falters, external actors have stepped in, framing the Sahel as a frontier of global insecurity rather than as a zone of climate-induced vulnerability (Lecocq et al., 2013). This securitised framing has invited military solutions that address symptoms rather than causes. Rather than investing in sustainable land management, social cohesion, or adaptive governance, the international response has prioritised counterterrorism and border security. The result has been a militarisation of development agendas, where human security is overshadowed by narrow security imperatives.

Foreign Interventions and the Politics of Dependence

Since 2013, France has spearheaded major military operations in the Sahel, Operation Serval, followed by Operation Barkhane, justified as necessary to contain jihadist expansion. While these interventions achieved short-term tactical gains, such as reclaiming northern Mali from insurgent control, they entrenched long-term dependence on external security architectures (Charbonneau, 2021). Empirical studies indicate that Sahelian states relying heavily on external forces experience weaker domestic accountability and slower institutional growth (Cold-Ravnkilde & Jacobsen, 2020). The presence of foreign troops often legitimises ruling elites while sidelining civic actors who could otherwise demand governance reforms. Consequently, foreign intervention has evolved from a stabilising force to a structure of dependency that undermines the sovereignty it claims to protect.

The result is a paradox: as foreign forces withdraw, the governance vacuum re-emerges, sometimes more acute than before. The military coups in Mali (2020 and 2021), Burkina Faso (2022), and Niger (2023) reflect both the disillusionment with external intervention and the failure of domestic governance to reassert legitimacy. Citizens’ frustrations, expressed through anti-French protests, signify a broader rejection of perceived neocolonial influence that prioritises elite and strategic interests over popular welfare.

Normative and Empirical Dimensions of External Intervention

The critique of external intervention in the Sahel is both normative and empirical. Normatively, it questions the legitimacy of interventions that erode sovereignty and self-determination. Empirically, it interrogates whether such interventions yield measurable governance improvements. Evidence suggests they do not. According to the International Crisis Group (2022), areas under prolonged foreign military presence have not demonstrated significant improvements in the rule of law, service delivery, or civic trust. Instead, insecurity has spread geographically, shifting from northern Mali to central regions and into Burkina Faso and Niger. This disconnect underscores a critical point: external interventions often misread local contexts. They treat insurgency as a purely military challenge, neglecting the socio-political grievances, such as exclusion, corruption, and unaddressed justice claims, that drive radicalisation (Thurston, 2020). By failing to integrate community-based conflict management mechanisms, external actors inadvertently perpetuate cycles of instability.

The Neocolonial Continuum and Regional Sovereignty

          The countries that formed the Sahel Alliance (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) marked a geopolitical realignment: Source: Business Post.

The postcolonial critique of external involvement in the Sahel centres on the persistence of neocolonial power relations. France’s continued dominance through economic interests, military bases, and political influence mirrors patterns of control established during the colonial era (Boilley, 2021). This arrangement subordinates African agency to external geopolitical calculations, particularly regarding energy security, migration control, and counterterrorism cooperation. Recent geopolitical realignments, marked by the rise of the Alliance of Sahel States (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger), signal a rejection of this dependency paradigm. The Alliance’s collective assertion of sovereignty, including the expulsion of French troops and the embrace of alternative security partnerships (notably with Russia), reflects a broader desire for self-determination. However, whether these shifts translate into sustainable governance reforms remains uncertain. True sovereignty requires not only independence from external actors but also the internal legitimacy derived from accountable and inclusive governance.

Environmental and Socioeconomic Consequences

Poverty and underdevelopment, exacerbated by desertification and the effects of climate change. Source: European Union Institute for  Security Studies. 

The diversion of resources toward militarised security has undermined long-term development objectives. In countries where over 70% of the population relies on agriculture and pastoralism, the prioritisation of defence spending over rural development exacerbates poverty and marginalisation (UNDP, 2022). Furthermore, externally funded security programs often operate in isolation from climate adaptation initiatives. This fragmentation weakens resilience-building efforts, leaving communities trapped between ecological decline and violent competition. Studies by the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC, 2023) emphasise that sustainable peace in the region requires integrating environmental governance, livelihood security, and conflict prevention into a unified strategy, an approach largely absent from current intervention models.

Toward African-Led Security and Governance Frameworks

The failures of foreign-led interventions have sparked calls for indigenous solutions rooted in regional cooperation and context-specific governance. The African Union’s Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) both provide frameworks for collective action but remain underutilised due to resource constraints and political divisions. Strengthening these institutions requires more than symbolic declarations; it demands fiscal independence, operational capacity, and shared strategic vision. As Aning and Dzinesa (2020) argue, African-led peacebuilding must balance sovereignty with mutual accountability, ensuring that regional security efforts are not dominated by the same elite capture that undermined external interventions. Community-based initiatives, including traditional dispute resolution and local peace committees, offer additional avenues for resilience. These mechanisms, when supported through inclusive governance and gender-sensitive programming, can restore the social fabric eroded by years of militarisation.

Reclaiming Agency: Policy and Research Implications

Reclaiming agency in the Sahel requires both political courage and intellectual clarity. Policymakers must move beyond crisis management toward a developmental model that places governance, equity, and sustainability at its core. For researchers, this entails producing contextually grounded evidence that bridges normative debates on sovereignty with empirical assessments of governance performance. The nexus of climate change, governance fragility, and external intervention deserves sustained scholarly attention. Interdisciplinary research combining political science, environmental studies, and peacebuilding can illuminate pathways toward localised resilience.

At the policy level, three recommendations stand out:

1. Rebalance foreign assistance toward governance, justice, and livelihoods rather than military hardware.

2. Support African-led mechanisms that prioritise local legitimacy and regional solidarity.

3. Institutionalise environmental peacebuilding, recognising that climate adaptation and security are interdependent goals.

Conclusion

The Sahel’s crisis encapsulates the dilemmas of postcolonial sovereignty in a globalised security order. External interventions, while often motivated by stability concerns, have perpetuated dependency, eroded governance, and displaced local agency. The path forward lies not in isolationism but in reclaiming strategic autonomy through regional cooperation, institutional strengthening, and people-centred development. By anchoring security in self-determination and governance reform, the Sahel can transform from a theatre of external competition into a laboratory of African-led resilience and renewal.

References

Aning, K., & Dzinesa, G. 2020. Peacebuilding in contemporary Africa: Developments and challenges. Routledge.

Benjaminsen, T. A., & Ba, B. 2021. “Fulani–farmers conflicts and insecurity in Mali.” World Development, 146, 105618.

Boilley, P. 2021. “France and its postcolonial entanglements in the Sahel.” Politique Africaine, 161.1: 25–48.

Charbonneau, B. 2021. France and the new imperialism: Security policy in sub-Saharan Africa. Routledge.

Cold-Ravnkilde, S. M., & Jacobsen, K. L. 2020. “Disentangling the security–development nexus in the Sahel.” Danish Institute for International Studies Report.

International Crisis Group 2022. A Course Correction for the Sahel Stabilisation Strategy.

Lecocq, B., Mann, G., & Whitehouse, B. 2013. “One hippopotamus and eight blind analysts: A multivocal analysis of the 2012 political crisis in Mali.” Review of African Political Economy, 40.137: 343–357.

Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC). 2023. Regional Stability and Development in the Sahel. OECD.

Thurston, A. 2020. Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel: Local politics and rebel groups. Cambridge University Press.

UNDP. 2022. Journey to Extremism in Africa: Pathways to Recruitment and Disengagement.

Author Biography

Jamaldeen Oluwasegun Akanbi is a Research Fellow at the African Governance Institute for Development and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Peace, Security and Humanitarian Studies at the University of Ibadan. He has held various leadership and programmatic roles across local and international organisations, including the Conflict Awareness and Prevention Initiative (CAPI), Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), Environmental Conflict Mediation and Women Development Initiative (ECOMAWDI), and Global Rights Advocates for Sustainable Justice. A certified mediator and peace advocate, Jamaldeen is an alumnus of the fourth cohort of the Olusegun Obasanjo Youth Mentorship Programme and a 2023 Ambassador of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). His research interests span peace and security studies, conflict management, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), youth development, gender and security, and diplomatic affairs. He is affiliated with several professional bodies, including the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP) and the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC). His scholarly work includes, but is not limited to,              publications in the Journal of the Society of Peace Studies and Practice,          notably his analysis titled ‘Transitional Justice Mechanisms as Enabler in Combating Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria’ and Journal of Political Science and Policy Studies, titled Public Perception of the #EndBadGovernance Protests and its Influence on National Security in Nigeria. He is also a co-contributor to the edited volume Readings in Policing, Peace and Security: A Festschrift in Honour of Kayode Adeolu Egbedokun, PhD, NPM, fspsp, the Inspector General of Police, Nigeria. In addition, Jamaldeen is a certified peer reviewer for the Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, a leading international open-access journal. He can be reached via email at jamaldeenakanbi@gmail.com or by phone at +234 813 303 3308.