Sahel Alliance Holds Summit, Calls for "Large-Scale Operations" Against Extremism
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The military takeovers in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have coincided with a sharp deterioration in regional security, reinforcing the Sahel’s status as the world’s deadliest zone for militant violence. After expelling Western partners, the juntas face extremist groups operating with growing freedom across borders, including into northern Nigeria. This instability exposes structural limits within the Alliance of Sahel States, as fragile logistics and supply corridors are repeatedly disrupted, raising doubts about the governments’ capacity to secure trade routes or civilian safety at scale.
Establishment-critical narrative
The latest summit of the Alliance of Sahel States underscored a project grounded in the rejection of inherited post-colonial power structures. For Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the alliance amounts to sovereignty exercised in practice: reclaiming control over gold and strategic resources, removing security from foreign command chains, and redefining external partnerships on reciprocal rather than hierarchical terms. With the French military presence ended, the confederation is understood as a recalibration of power toward regional autonomy and collective leverage, not a retreat into isolation.
