What is it about?
This paper explains how the Sahel has become one of the main centres of jihadist violence in Africa, especially after the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. It illustrates how armed groups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and the Lake Chad region sustain themselves by combining ideology with crime, smuggling, and local alliances, and how they capitalize on people’s insecurity, poverty, and lack of trust in the state. The article reviews the failures of mainly military responses—French, regional, and international—and argues that to reduce violence, policymakers must focus much more on human security, local grievances, governance, and development, rather than relying solely on “Kalashnikov diplomacy.”
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Why is it important?
This paper is important because it helps readers see that jihadist violence in the Sahel is not just an imported religious problem but is deeply rooted in local social, economic, and political conditions. By linking terrorism to issues like marginalization, weak states, climate stress, and abusive security forces, it challenges the idea that more soldiers and airstrikes will solve the crisis. The analysis offers practical lessons for African governments and international partners on designing more innovative, people-centered strategies that can effectively reduce violence rather than unintentionally exacerbating it.
Perspectives
Writing this article was especially meaningful for me because it brought together many years of following the Sahel from the angle of African security, jihadist movements, and the limits of external interventions. Working on the paper allowed me to listen more carefully to local voices and to question straightforward explanations that blame everything on ideology while ignoring everyday insecurity and injustice. I hope that this work encourages policymakers, students, and observers to look beyond the headlines and consider solutions that put Sahelian communities—not just foreign armies—at the center of any serious strategy against extremism.
Professor Hamdy A. Hassan
Zayed University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: "A New Hotbed for Extremism? Jihadism and Collective Insecurity in the Sahel", Asian Journal of Peacebuilding, November 2020, Institute for Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS),
DOI: 10.18588/202011.00a120.
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