Military Regimes In The Sahel As Recruitment Sergeants For Rebel Governance

Abstract

The recent cases of the de-democratisation of Sahelian states, such as Mali and Burkina Faso, driven by the emergence of military regimes, have been presented as responses to severe security crises occasioned by the activities of transnational violent extremist organisations. Nevertheless, the existence of such regimes has not corresponded with drastic improvements in security outcomes, as evidenced by the rapidly escalating incidents of violence and human insecurity that have particularly rocked Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. In this paper, using a multiple case study design, we outline the argument that the proliferation of these regimes hastens the ascent of these states to “state failure-hood” as they legitimise “rebel governance” exemplified by violent extremist organisations such as the Sahelian franchises of transnational terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda through the “securitisation of peace” through the use of techniques that further affect already poor “state-civil society” relations. We clarify our arguments using qualitative data drawn from the triangulation of secondary data sources and analyses using thematic content analysis.