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131. Building peace in Mali: the elections and beyond

Author:
Tobias Koepf and Cristina Barrios
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
On 28 July, the Malian population will go to the polls to elect a new president. This event will mark a return to the constitutional order, which ceased following a military coup on 22 March 2012. Getting Mali back on track after years of decline and months of turmoil is no easy task. This holds true for the elections per se but also, and most importantly, for the period after them as the newly elected head of state will have to lead the recovery of the country and build long-term peace.
Topic:
Political Violence, Democratization, Islam, Armed Struggle, Insurgency, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Mali

132. Mali: This is Only the Beginning

Author:
Baz Lecocq
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
Finally, the situation in Mali was rotten enough for international intervention. First because the mujahideen of Ansar Dine, the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA), along with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), only had to exercise a little pressure at the front in Konna, to let the last remnants of the Malian Army fall apart.1 Second because the Malian Interim President, Dioncounda Traoré, installed after the coup d'état against President Amadou Toumani Touré of 22 March 2012, faced yet another coup d'état from this same decrepit army, set heavily against foreign intervention as it might upset its power within Mali, which led him to formally ask France for military support, believing he had nothing to lose.2 Undoubtedly, the French Ministry of Defense and French Military HQ État-Major des Armées had a plan ready despite President Hollande's public assurances that France would not pursue a neocolonial intervention in a sovereign state. France has historically intervened militarily in West Africa whenever the situation allowed.3 In the past decade, Mali had become more and more part of the U.S. sphere of influence in Africa as U.S. armed forces trained Malian troops in counter terrorism operations. This was without much success, as is now clear, but France must have looked with disquiet upon their loss of influence. Then there are the uranium mines at Imouraren in neighboring Niger, only a few hundred kilometers from the mujahideen controlled zone in Mali. A further degradation of the security situation in Mali would certainly pose a threat to these French strategic interests
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, France, West Africa, and Mali

133. The Malian Crisis and its Actors

Author:
Dario Cristiani and Riccardo Fabiani
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The structural problems characterising Mali interlocked with the dynamics of crisis triggered by the war in Libya in 2011, causing the collapse of one of the few African democracies. The Tuareg rebellion of 2012, the coup d'état and the Islamist takeover of Northern Mali were the three key phases of this crisis, which pushed France - the former colonial patron - to intervene military. After analysing the major local actors involved in the crisis, the article critically analyses the engagement of the EU in the crisis.
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Africa, France, and Mali

134. Mali: Another European Intervention without the EU?

Author:
Sven Biscop, Jo Coelmont, and Rik Coolsaet
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
As French forces are engaged in combat operations in Mali, even belated EU involvement remains crucial, to ensure that the intervention fits in with the political end-state that the EU rightly pursues.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Islam, Insurgency, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Mali

135. Mali's Moment: The July 2013 Elections

Author:
John Price
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
As the United States drove Islamist insurgents from Afghanistan, many migrated to Yemen, eventually reaching the Horn of Africa, which became the “epicenter” for al-Qaeda. Osama bin Laden was indoctrinated by Wahhabist imams in Saudi Arabia, a sect that espouses armed jihad. In 1987, bin Laden formed al-Qaeda (the base) in Afghanistan, with his mujahedeen fighters. In 1991, he moved to Sudan with his al-Qaeda lieutenants and spent the next five years plotting attacks against Western interests.
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, United States, Sudan, Yemen, Arabia, Saudi Arabia, and Mali

136. Journal of Public and International Affairs 2013

Author:
Greg Rosalsky, Sarah Schleck, Nathaniel D. F. Allen, Ezra Levin, Alex Penwill, Farzan Sabet, Daniel Tam-Claiborne, Albert Trithart, Mark Walker, Ben Grubb, and Gloria Twesigye
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
The nine articles in this volume were chosen from over 150 submissions through a blind-selection process in Princeton. After individually reading a large number of submissions, attending editors first voted for their favorite papers via secret ballot, and we then facilitated an open debate to winnow down these choices to the cream of the crop. In the intervening months before publication, editors in Princeton from relevant policy areas worked with the authors to fact-check their work and fine-tune their arguments. While their geographic foci and policy subjects are multifarious, all the authors in this edition share a passion for changing the world through better policy. Whether it is women’s health issues in Tanzania, banking regulation in the European Union, diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, or immigration policy in the United States, the authors implore global policymakers to change course in order to remedy contemporary problems in public affairs. This dedication to making the world a better place through public policy, in addition to demonstrating first-rate scholarship, make us proud to showcase these articles.
Topic:
Health, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, Foreign Aid, Governance, Nuclear Power, Democracy, Economy, Arms Trade, and Microcredit
Political Geography:
Africa, China, Iran, Tanzania, Honduras, Mali, Niger, and United States of America

137. Between Humanitarian Aid and Colonialism - The Case Study of French (Non) Intervention in Iraq and Mali.

Author:
Emin Eminagić and Viktoria Potapkina
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
The Centre for Security Studies
Abstract:
Peacekeeping missions in today's public discourse are perceived as agents of neocolonialism, and thus seen as widely unpopular. Although one cannot simply assume that there are no reasons for international interventions in conflict areas, as a real need to protect and help the civilian population might exist, upon scrutinizing the foreign policies of some world powers one can witness elements that are none other than neocolonialist in nature. Nevertheless, it remains a sensitive topic, which depending on the prism of the viewer can be interpreted as neocolonial exploitation of resources and labor force, or, on the other hand, seen as stimulating the local economy and building of local capacities for a functioning state. This paper is designed as a comparative case study of France’s (non) involvement in two regions – Iraq in 2003 and Mali in 2013. The time frame of ten years allows for a retrospective analysis of the possible decisions influencing French politicians to make the decision to not intervene in Iraq. The case of Mali is a rather new event and thus requires immediate attention to understand the underlying reasons for military action. Such a case study presents an intriguing opportunity for comparison. In regards to the case of the intervention in Iraq, France had immediate economic interests in the country, however, it, to this day, remains the most vocal opponent of the intervention, regardless of the fact that a large number of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members participated in one way or another in the Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the case of Mali, France does not have any apparent economic interests in the region; however, it is the only NATO state carrying out the military operation in the country unilaterally as of writing of this paper. However it is not our intention to provide definitive answers on certain points of involvement and non-intervention, nor mark processes, but rather to provide a grassroot analysis on the the case study of Mali that would potentially best explain particular aspects of theoretical implications.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian Intervention, and Colonialism
Political Geography:
Iraq, France, and Mali

138. The Paranoid Neighbor: Algeria and the Conflict in Mali

Author:
Anouar Boukhars
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
As the crisis in Mali threatens to grow into a full-fledged regional security and humanitarian nightmare, nervous neighboring countries are looking to Algeria to lead a conflict management effort. In many ways Algeria has always wanted recognition as a regional leader. Yet, Algiers worries about being dragged into a Saharan quagmire and seems reluctant or unable to maintain stability in its backyard. Both the country's neighbors and the West are questioning Algeria's decision not to take a more active role in Mali.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Humanitarian Aid, and Islam
Political Geography:
Africa, Algeria, and Mali

139. EU engagement in the Sahel: lessons from Somalia and AfPak

Author:
Damien Helly
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
On 19 November, the Council of the EU welcomed the Crisis Management Concept for a possible EU training mission for Mali, paving the way for the launch of a CSDP operation replicating the work done in Uganda with Somali troops. And many in Brussels have started to speak of EUTM Mali, as if EUTM and more generally the EU approach to the crisis in Somalia was a relevant model for action in Mali.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Terrorism, and Insurgency
Political Geography:
Uganda, Afghanistan, Africa, Europe, Somalia, Mali, and Mauritania

140. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM): Implications for Algeria's Regional and International Relations

Author:
Dario Cristiani and Riccardo Fabiani
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Rebranded in 2007, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is the latest incarnation of Algerian radical Islamism. Initially focused on attacks with great political resonance against Algerian governmental and military targets, the group has progressively shifted its priorities, alongside its geographical and operational features. In the past few years, the countries of the Sahel region (Mauritania, Malì, Niger, Chad) have been increasingly affected by AQIM's actions. This geographical shift was the result both of a weakening of AQIM within Algeria, due to the tough counter-terrorist measures adopted by the regime, and of the "business opportunities" and the wider operational freedom offered by the Sahelian environment. The aim of this paper is to briefly address a series of questions concerning AQIM's "Sahelization" and its consequences for Algerian foreign policy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Islam
Political Geography:
Algeria, Mali, and Mauritania