(iPoster) Security without Safety: Examining the Limits of External Security in the Sahel

• In Event: Poster Sessions: African Politics Conference Group & Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Politics
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: African Politics Conference Group

Abstract

In August 2020, thousands of Malians lined the streets of Bamako in celebration of the ouster of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK). Similar developments can be observed in Burkina Faso and Niger with Ibrahim Traore, the current military leader of Burkina enjoying tremendous support not only in his country, but across the West African region. Unsurprisingly, Afrobarometer reported in 2024 that only 18% of Malians and 25% of Burkinabes reject military rule. This decline in the rejection of authoritarianism is present even in countries that have not experienced military coups in recent years such as Côte d’Ivoire (-27 points), Cameroon (-19 points), and Ghana (-18 points). Together, these trends point to a broader regional erosion of normative opposition to military rule, raising urgent questions about the changing foundations of political legitimacy in West Africa.
As these new military regimes consolidated their authority, severing defense agreements with its former colonial power France and other western powers emerged as a central symbolic and strategic move. This rupture was framed domestically as a reclaim of sovereignty. The presence of external actors ranging from United Nations (UN) Stabilization Missions to French and European counterterrorism missions operating in the Sahel region for years made it easier for this narrative to stick. It resonated with the citizenry as they had become increasingly disillusioned with external security partnerships that had failed to deliver meaningful improvements in everyday safety. Additionally, this West African region experiences what the Sahel Alliance calls the “Sahel Paradox”, a reference to the abundant natural resources such as oil, natural gas, gold, phosphates and minerals present in the region and the economic and social vulnerabilities the region faces causing it to become one of the poorest regions in the world. These structural challenges, combined with ongoing insecurity, have heightened public frustration with both domestic governments and international security interventions, creating fertile ground for military regimes to frame themselves as credible alternatives.
Taken together, these dynamics point to a widening gap between multilateral rhetoric on human security and the realities experienced by populations in the Sahel. While external actors such as the UN, France, and the United States have consistently framed their engagement in terms of stabilization, protection of civilians, and the promotion of human security, these commitments have not translated into sustained improvements in economic wellbeing, food security, or personal safety. Instead, protracted insecurity, persistent poverty, and growing humanitarian needs have become normalized features of everyday life. This disconnect has eroded the credibility of both international partners and the domestic governments aligned with them, fostering public disillusionment with liberal peacebuilding and external security provision.
This research project seeks to examine how French, UN and US involvement in the Sahel reshaped human security and state legitimacy in ways that contributed to the resurgence of popular support for military rule. Specifically, I explore whether external security provision’s ability and/or inability to deliver human security needs in the Sahel contributed to popular support for military regimes. While the UNDP categorizes human security into 7 main areas, this research will focus on economic, food and personal security which are central to everyday wellbeing. Using a mixed methods approach, this analysis evaluates external involvement through the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA), French security policy in the Sahel and US involvement in the region assessing how these interventions interacted with domestic issues to shape perceptions of legitimacy and authority.

Author

• Maggie Adomako, Tufts University