@book{fdi:010081996,
  title = {{R}ethinking the response to jihadist groups across the {S}ahel},
  author = {{P}{\'e}rouse de {M}ontclos, {M}arc-{A}ntoine},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{R}ather than the ideology of global jihad, the driving force behind the emergence and resilience of non-state armed groups in the {S}ahel is a combination of weak states, corruption and the brutal repression of dissent, embodied in dysfunctional military forces. {T}he dominant narrative of a global jihadi threat has overshadowed the reality of the key role played by military nepotism, prevarication and indiscipline in generating and continuing conflict in the {S}ahel problems that long predated the "war on terror". {M}oreover, it has pushed the international community to intervene to regulate local conflicts that have little to do with global terrorism or religious indoctrination. {M}ali offers a clear example of this. {T}he widespread use of poorly controlled militias, the collapse of its army, two coups in 2012 and 2020 and a weak state presence in rural areas, on top of a history of repression and abuse suffered by its northern population, has done much more to drive the growth of insurgent groups than did the fall of the {G}addafi regime in {L}ibya in 2011, {S}alafist indoctrination, or alleged support from {A}rab countries. {I}t is time to rethink the role of the international community and acknowledge its limits in this context. {T}oday, success depends first and foremost on the goodwill (much more than on the capacity) of political leaders to reform and renew their social contract with citizens, especially in rural areas. {I}nternational efforts that seek to support military action against armed groups will fail as long as impunity prevails and local armies can kill civilians and topple governments without consequence. {T}he recent experience of {N}iger might not offer a model that can be replicated in its entirety in {M}ali, or elsewhere in the {S}ahel, but it demonstrates that there are possibilities for improvement. {T}hough by no means perfect, {N}iger's democratic experience shows that it is possible for states in the region to overcome the legacy of their bloody and divided past.},
  keywords = {{SAHEL} ; {MALI} ; {NIGER} ; {NIGERIA} ; {TCHAD} ; {LIBYE} ; {BURKINA} {FASO} ; {LAC} {TCHAD}},
  address = {{L}ondres},
  publisher = {{C}hatham {H}ouse},
  series = {{C}hatham {R}esearch {P}aper},
  pages = {27},
  year = {2021},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010081996},
}