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Begin New Search Political Geography Northern Mali

1. The Case of Northern Mali (Azawad) 2012-13

Author:
Zdeněk Ludvík
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Obrana a strategie (Defence & Strategy)
Institution:
University of Defence
Abstract:
Northern Mali (Azawad) is an area where the state is unable to fulfill its basic functions. A characteristic feature of the area is the fragmentation of power-political control and authority. This process culminated in 2012-2013 in the complete disintegration of the sovereign architecture of the Malian state. So, rather than the just the state itself, non-state entities have acquired control and authority that, in the Westphalian concept of statehood, they are not entitled to execute. This has not only involved the interference of other state actors, but also TNCs, INGOs and, in particular, violent non-state actors. Thus, various types of governance have emerged in the territory. With the aid of interpretive paths I will introduce typologies of actors who were involved in governance and typologies of territories where such governance took place. The synthesis of these two categories shows that the methods of governance and their consequences have gained highly different forms among the different types of actors.
Political Geography:
Northern Mali

2. Le conflit frontalier Cameroun-Nigeria dans le lac Tchad : les enjeux de l'île de Darak, disputée et partagée

Author:
Halirou Abdouraman
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
Ala fin des années 1970 et au début des années 1980, une sécheresse perma-nente ravage tout le Sahel africain. Outre de nombreuses morts, onconstate que des milliers de personnes migrent d'une région à une autre, endépit des frontières interétatiques existantes. C'est dans ce contexte de criseque des populations nigérianes se mettent à occuper certaines îles camerounai-ses surgies à la suite de l'assèchement du lac Tchad. Peu après, l'administrationnigériane du Borno State appuie cette occupation en y établissant sa domina-tion sur des territoires qui, théoriquement, se trouvent en terre camerounaise.Chose curieuse, l'installation nigériane ne semble pas être considérée commeétrangère. En effet, au moment ou les deux Etats se disputent la paternité decertaines îles du lac Tchad, des populations d'origines diverses (camerounai-ses, nigérianes, maliennes, tchadiennes, centrafricaines, etc.), liées par l'exploi-tation des ressources du lac, notamment le poisson, y vivent en paix.
Political Geography:
Nigeria, Cameroon, Northern Mali, and Borno State

3. Morocco's Approach to Countering Violent Extremism

Author:
Mohamed Salah Tamek
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Morocco has had a largely successful record of countering violent extremism within its borders, including the dismantling of numerous cells linked to al-Qaeda core or its North African offshoot, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Thousands of suspects have been arrested for perpetrating assassinations, assaults, and robberies; huge caches of heavy weapons have been confiscated; and authorities have foiled many attempts to attack security services, tourist attractions, diplomatic delegations, and places of worship for Christians and Jews. In addition, two channels of recruitment for jihadists in Mali were dismantled in late 2012, and two months ago, Moroccan and Spanish security forces jointly dismantled a transnational cell recruiting fighters for Syria and Mali.
Topic:
Security, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Syria, Morocco, and Northern Mali

4. Guns, Money and Prayers: AQIM's Blueprint for Securing Control of Northern Mali

Author:
Morten Bøås
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
AL-QA`IDA IN THE ISLAMIC Maghreb (AQIM) is occasionally described as an operational branch of the global al-Qa`ida structure. Yet AQIM should not be viewed as an external al-Qa`ida force operating in the Sahel and Sahara. For years, AQIM and its offshoots have pursued strategies of integration in the region based on a sophisticated reading of the local context. AQIM and its offshoots leverage money, guns and prayers to establish their presence in poorly governed areas in the Sahel and the Sahara. Their use of religion is of particular importance in an area where the local governing administration, to the degree that it exists, is generally perceived by the domestic population as corrupt, whereas AQIM and affiliated Islamist militants present themselves as honest and pious Muslims. This is especially the case in northern Mali.
Political Geography:
Northern Mali

5. Piecing Together the Jigsaw: Prospects for improved social relations after the armed conflict in northern Mali

Author:
Elise Ford and Ilaria Allegrozzi
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Since January 2012, Mali has been suffering an unprecedented and multi-dimensional socio-political, security and humanitarian crisis. It follows years of weakening state authority, poor governance, a disintegrating army and inter-community tensions. Antagonism and tension between and within communities have built up since the beginning of the conflict, and the rebuilding of social ties and the implementation of a genuine reconciliation process are among the main challenges that must be overcome in order to reconstruct Mali and ensure its long-term stability.
Topic:
Political Violence, Human Rights, Islam, Migration, and Insurgency
Political Geography:
Africa and Northern Mali

6. Algeria: Using its Resources to Define the Future

Author:
Henry S. Ensher
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
When asked about the effects of the Arab Spring on their country, Algerians tend to say that they knew the nearby revolutions would be dangerous to them, and point to extremist takeover and foreign intervention in northern Mali and the terrorist attack at In Amenas. Looking further back, they will say that Algeria had its own political spring in the late 1980s, but it led straight to the terrorist violence of the 1990s that resulted in the deaths, they say, of 200,000 Algerians, a decade of development and progress lost and psychological damage and divisions in their society. Algerians point to three troubling developments from recent events in their region: the rise of extremist forces to political power in their region, the trafficking of large numbers of weapons from Libya and the chaos of northern Mali, leading to foreign military intervention, which Algerians find deeply troubling, given their own history as a colonized people.
Political Geography:
Libya, Arabia, Algeria, and Northern Mali

7. Domestic and Regional Challenges in Mali after the French Intervention

Author:
Gerald Hainzl
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
On 11 January 2013, France initiated an intervention in Mali in order to stop rebel and Islamist fighters marching towards the capital Bamako. Exactly one month later, on 11 February, French President François Hollande claimed victory against Islamist insurgents. On 18 February, a group of seven tourists was kidnapped in Cameroon, near the Nigerian border, by Ansaru, a militant group loosely affiliated to the Nigerian group Boko Haram. One day later, a French soldier was killed in a clash with Islamist fighters in the mountainous region in Northern Mali. France originally planned to leave Mali in March 2013, but has since extended its commitment.
Topic:
Security and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
France, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Northern Mali

8. The Challenges of Retaking Northern Mali

Author:
Martin van Vliet
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
ONCE CONSIDERED AFRICA'S flagship of democracy, Mali has turned into a shipwreck of anarchy seemingly overnight. A military coup ousted Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré in March 2012, and within weeks state authority completely withered in the northern regions of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal. Covering an area as large as the state of Texas, these regions are currently controlled by three “hybrid organizations” blending Islamic radicalism with transnational crime. Deeply concerned by the security threats posed by such a sizeable sanctuary for terrorists, the international community has pressured the Malian government and military to overcome internal wrangles as preparations for an international military intervention are underway.
Political Geography:
Northern Mali

9. Is a military intervention in Mali unavoidable?

Author:
Roland Marchal
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
No clear settlement of the crisis in Mali seems possible in the short term, despite a UN Security Council resolution on October 12th paving the way for a military intervention by ECOWAS countries. The crisis is fed by various dynamics that need to be reconciled for peace to prevail. Firstly, the transition in Bamako is going nowhere, and further divisions in the government and the resurgence of the coup makers undermine the fragile progress witnessed in July. Unable to agree on a solution in Bamako, most political actors have developed a militaristic approach to any solution for the north. Secondly, Islamist and jihadist movements were able to gain control of northern Mali (two-thirds of the country) in a few months and have enforced new rules inspired by their understanding of Islam. Although protests erupted in several cities, the militants deepened their control over the region and its local and transnational economy and may have a constituency among the population. ECOWAS, supported by France, is willing to intervene militarily, but the fragmentation of the Malian army is a key weakness. Moreover, ECOWAS has not spelled out the actual aims of its intervention: mere territorial gains without addressing local and national grievances may mean the return of the status quo ante, which would be unacceptable to most people in northern Mali. As usual, the long-term political dimensions of the ECOWAS intervention are dismissed in favour of an immediate military victory that would be very fragile as a result.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Islam, Armed Struggle, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Africa, France, and Northern Mali

10. Between Islamization and Secession: The Contest for Northern Mali

Author:
Derek Henry Flood
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
ON JANUARY 17, 2012, a rebellion began in Mali when ethnic Tuareg fighters attacked a Malian army garrison in the eastern town of Menaka near the border with Niger.1 In the conflict's early weeks, the ethno-nationalist rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA)2 cooperated and sometimes collaborated with Islamist fighters of Ansar Eddine for as long as the divergent movements had a common enemy in the Malian state.3 On March 22, disgruntled Malian soldiers upset about their lack of support staged a coup d'état, overthrowing the democratically elected government of President Amadou Toumani Touré.
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Northern Mali