Crisis and conflict systems in the central sahel

a multidimensional and multi-scalar analysis

Abstract

Since 2010, we have observed a deterioration in the security situation in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Jihadist and separatist insurgencies, intercommunal violence, criminality, brutality of the armed forces, coups d’état and human rights violations are part of conflict complexes that justify a multidimensional and multi-scalar approach. Our aim is to analyze how complex and evolving crisis systems give rise to conflict systems that become regionalized, forming transnational reticular spatial structures. The multiplicity of belligerents, the absence of demands, the fluidity of the spatial practices of the insurgents and the temporal discontinuity of operations paints a scenario in which cells of the franchises of global jihadism benefit from the vulnerability and frustrations of young people. Our approach suggests that the sovereignty/national territory/people tripod, appropriate for a bipolar international system structured by vertical interactions and a center/periphery logic, is not a fully relevant analytical resource in the study of Sahelian conflict. In a nonpolar world that deverticalizes international relations, we must consider the horizontal dynamics of political violence, as well as the subjectivity of actors who challenge traditional policies and instruments of power.

Keywords: Conflict; Crisis Systems; Regional Conflict Systems; Central Sahel; Sub-Saharan Africa