West Africa and the Sahel: Understanding the Changing Landscape

Dr Olayinka Ajala of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, hosts his first African Research Initiative (ARI) Workshop.

Workshop title: West Africa and the Sahel: Understanding the Changing Landscape

Date: Wednesday 1 May 20024

Time: 10am-4pm

Please note this is a hybrid event

In person location: Jubilee and Acre Rooms, James Graham Building, Leeds Beckett University, Headingly Campus, LS6 3QS

Online Microsoft Teams link Meeting ID: 346 041 097 809, Passcode: cA62De

Speaker 1: Professor Morten Boas (Research professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), specialising in Africa and the Sahel)

Democratic backsliding – is a wind of authoritarianism brewing in Africa?

Lately we are repeatedly told that the world we live is defined by a global conflict between democracy and dictatorship. Africa has been signposted as one of the places where this battle will take place, and we are often told by pundits that democracy is backsliding in several places on the continent but is this really what is taking place? The answer to this question is yes and no at the same time. In countries where democracy as a system of rule over time has produced something that people find of value, what we see is that people rush to defend it if rulers try to bend rules or find other ways to extend their time in power. What recently happened in Senegal illustrates this. In other places like Mali, however, the population may give their support to authoritarian leaders – recent credible polls give President Goïta an approval rating of 85 per cent – but this is taking place in country where what they got was a democracy that delivered unending violent conflict and an abundance of corruption, and nothing else. The picture is therefore considerably more nuanced and complex than just democratic backsliding, as even in Mali one could question what the progress has been if democracy now is backsliding. However, where democracy has not delivered, other external powers will attempt to increase their influence as seen with Russia in the Sahel and the new cosiness between unelected rulers and the Putin regime which also deserves critical scrutiny and analysis.

Speaker 2: Issaka Ouedraogo (Director of Sahel Political a Risk & Strategy consultancy based in Switzerland)

Topic: The impacts of Insecurity, economic stagnation and external interference on governance in the Sahel

West-Africa is currently going through one the world’s biggest security crises with its attendant negative and durable impacts on human security, peace and economic prosperity. Expanding Jihadist Insurrections led by terrorist groups such as JNIM/IS killing, injuring, or forcing thousands to flee yearly. The last four years have seen an unprecedented rise of military coups in the Sahel notably in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. This “comeback of coups” happened around the decade marking the start of the jihadist insurrection which local liberal-minded civilian governments were unable to contain or degrade even with the help of foreign military “boots on the ground” be they of Western or Russian inspiration. Subsequent opposition to military takeovers led to diplomatic spat between military authorities and International and regional players over elections delays and deployment of Russian mercenaries.

Issaka will explore the challenges posed by prolonged Jihadist violence, political instability and economic downturn in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger while answering the following questions: To what extent do international or regional players' responses and influence play a role in mitigating or exacerbating the genesis and or expansion of both phenomena in the region? What are the impacts of ongoing insecurity and instability on the evolution of the nature and characteristics of governance in the Sahel? How can international and regional partners support Sahelian states efforts to counter terrorism and restore constitutional normalcy without exacerbating existing regional and geopolitical tensions?

Early Career Researcher speakers

Dr Marine Gueguin- Department of Politics and International Relations, Leeds Beckett University

Topic - France in the Sahel: Unveiling colonialities of power and space(s) and rethinking the everyday-militarization

The withdrawal of the French military operation Barkhane from Mali in 2022 was driven by strong anti-French sentiments in the Sahel. France’s military interventions in the Sahel have sparked significant debates and scrutiny within the discipline, in particular looking at the regional response to armed conflict, organized crimes, and terrorism in conjunction with African partners (FCG5S). However the underlying colonialities that shape such operations, in particular the construction of the ‘outside’ space(s) and the everyday-militarisation remain overlooked. Of significance, at a micro-level, France’s interventions and counterterrorism strategies in the Sahel operated and translated into the everyday and continuous militarisation of space(s). By scrutinising historical and contemporary contexts around military powers and interventions in space(s), the paper explores the intricate linkages between France’s colonial past, neo-colonial structures, colonial legacies and the present-day with Barkhane and Serval military interventions. Conceptualising the ‘coloniality of space’ following a decolonial approach, the paper argues for a rethinking and deconstruction of France’s military interventions. The concepts of colonial continuities and patterns of continuities have been largely under-explored vis-à-vis France’s intervention in Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania (Chafer et al., 2020) as a denial. It questions, therefore, how space(s) are (re)produced and (re)constructed by the French counterterrorism strategy to build the ‘Françafrique’ and the quadrillage de l’espace. The paper critically examine the role of France in the Sahel, with a specific emphasis on unveiling colonialities of power and space(s) questioning the vernacular military interventions and French military involvement in a complex security challenges zone.

Ezenwa Olumba , Royal Holloway University of London

Topic: Securitising Drone Warfare in Africa: Proactive Strategies in the Sahel

Drone use and its consequences are critical issues in world politics, particularly in Africa's Sahel region. The increasing use of drones, or 'dronisation', by violent non-state actors has catalysed a wave of drone-driven warfare, often catching state actors unprepared. This article analyses the current approaches to drone use among some African countries while highlighting the emerging threat from the dronisation efforts of non-state actors. The paper, underpinned by Securitisation Theory, contends that the escalating threats from dronisation necessitate a proactive approach to drone technologies, advocating for strategies beyond extant methods like hosting drone bases for Western nations or acquiring ready-made drones. It emphasises the need to securitise drone technology development and usage, urging a strategic shift towards indigenous innovation. This article enriches the literature on drones, dronisation, and counterinsurgency by offering a nuanced analysis of drone use in Africa within the rapidly evolving drone security landscape.

Folusho Oladipo, University of Huddersfield

Topic: Women’s Activism in Colonial Southern Nigeria and Historical Silences, 1923-1953

My research explores the processes of history-making that excludes rather than include, using the study of the women’s movements in Colonial Southern Nigeria to analyze how, in excluding the contribution of market women, the scope of activism is reduced through a system of class that reinforces a sense of hero-making. The history of market women’s movements in colonial southern Nigeria has consistently privileged a few groups of “elites”- who have ultimately become the reference points of historical events in which several women participated. The several others who participated have been disregarded on the basis of patriarchy , class; and economic status. Their non-subscription to western education has influenced the gendered description of these women and their agency as being illiterates (fools), and rioters, in-spite of their demonstrated ingenuity. This narrative was first established through colonial records, and subsequently reinforced by African scholars. Thus influencing the understanding and perception towards market women, and their agency, especially in post-colonial Nigeria. My work will chart a course for the reintegration of market women into developmental and productive discussions in the future development of Nigeria, using an innovative historical methodology that combines African indigenous knowledge sharing techniques with European acceptable standards in oral history.

Kennedy Okparaolu, University of York

Topic: The Changing Fortunes of the Sahel - Theorizing with the Politics of Power

The challenges in the Sahel are complex and multi-dimensional. A keen observer’s interpretation would be of guaranteed dismal outcomes in areas of states and regional security, politics, and environment, all of which severely threaten the envisaged socio-economic outlook. Nevertheless, article delves into the meta-theoretical framework of power politics to explain the persistence in the conflict ridden Sahel region. The argument within the article suggests that by examining the multifaceted and dynamic challenges, the beguile realism framework, devolved from a response to the perceived threat by liberal institutionalism, exposes the real drivers of politics in the region. Hence, the Sahel region will continue facing such existential hostility until developmental strategies challenge the prominence of power politics.