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This chapter raises the following questions: What is specific about the French military intervention in Mali? In particular, how can we explain the fact that, unlike previous French interventions in Africa (most recently in Cote d’Ivoire, Chad or Libya), Serval has very seldom been accused of neo-colonialism internationally, and popular in Mali? The argument presented is two-fold. On the first hand, it argues that this intervention cannot be approached only through the lens of françafrique. On the other hand, however, the chapter claims that Serval can and must be understood from a post-colonial perspective.
The history of colonialism is very interesting and has had a noteworthy impact on the contemporary world. Between 1870 to the mid twentieth century, the continent of Africa encountered the full force of European colonialism. European powers fought each other to establish their footprint on the continent. Around 17th century, France began to establish its historical, economic and political footprint in Africa. Amongst other European countries, France expanded the most and by the 19th century it had conquered vast territories in West Africa. Nevertheless, a process of decolonization began in the latter half of the 20 th century against the backdrop of the Second World War. Although France ceased to govern these territories directly, it still retained substantial politico-economic clout in the region. Paris also cultivated strategic security partnerships with its former colonies in Africa. Between 1963 and 2013, France undertook several interventions. Mali, located in West Africa, officially got independence from France in 1960. Still, it carries vestiges of its colonial past. This paper studies the continuing French influence in Mali, and how this former French colony in West Africa became victim of a resource war.
Upon the UN resolution No. 2085 on Mali, the ECWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, including 15 countries, had joined the Malian army, under an intense cover from France. Then, the French Prime minister said that the intervention in Mali aims at realizing three goals: halting the advancement of terrorist groups towards the south, preserving the existence and the territorial integrity of the Malian state, and preparing for the deployment of the African Intervention Force which was established by virtue of a Security Council resolution. Despite the fact that such political targets are geographically limited inside the Malian soil, yet this is not the truth, especially that terrorism is a trans-border phenomenon. The strategic aim for the intervention in Mali is the protection of the French interests (security and economically). Fighting in Mali is a protection for Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauri-tius. In this respect, France has understood the domino effect of the terrorist groups in Mali; if they took control over Mali, other countries will fall in their hands sooner or later. Thereupon, its intervention aims at imposing a reverse domino effect that would totally face the terrorist groups in the region and prevent any similar aggression on the fragile neighboring countries (lie under French influence). Undoubtedly, the stability of the terrorist groups along the shore for a long period of time (Mali, Niger, Mauritania) constitutes a security obsession for France. The French military intervention in Mali has raised various questions and dimensions, the matter that made it appear as if Paris had hastily taken the decision of war, especially with the creeping of the fighters of the Qaeda-linked Tawhid and Jihad Movement in West Africa and Harakat Ansar el-Din (Movement of Religious Supporters) in the South towards the Capital Bamako, and their repercussions on various pivots, salient of which are the French and Western interest in Mali; the oil and mineral-rich country, and in Mali's neighboring countries such as Niger, Mauritius, Algeria and Cote d'ivoire. REPORTS
ERIS – European Review of International Studies
France’s Intervention Policy in Africa Seen from Below: Some Thoughts on the Case of Côte d’IvoireIn mid-January 2013, France invaded Mali, a former colony that sits in the middle of what was once the enormous French empire in Africa that stretched from Algeria to the Congo and from the Ivory Coast to the Sudan. The French government argued that its invasion of its former colony was an anti-terrorist and humanitarian intervention to prevent radical Salafist Muslims from taking the capital of Bamako and succeeding in taking control of the country. Critics have suggested that France had other motivations, above all maintaining its powerful influence in the region in order to prevent European competitors, the United States, or the Chinese from muscling in, but also because of its specific interests in resources such as uranium. The situation is very complex, in part because of a historic division and even antagonism between the Tuaregs, a Berber people in the North of Mali, and the black African population in the South, but also because, in addition to the various Islamist groups, there are also numerous organizations of traffickers in drugs and other contraband. In this article, Jean Batou unravels the complexity of the situation to lay bare the central social struggles taking place.
1982 •
AARMS Vol. 12, No. 2 (2013) 247–271. In 2012 the seemingly stable country of Mali experienced a sudden collapse, this along with the declaration of independence of the brand new Tuareg state, the massive spread of extreme Islamism shocked the international community. Initial disbelief gave way to the UN Security Council’s resolution to restore Mali’s territorial integrity. Fueled by the fear of a greater and bloodier conflict and its overspill, limited military operations began. Along with the Economic Community of West African State–led operation, the country’s former colonial master, France, began its own controversial military operation. Many people think that by doing so, France is trying to prove itself a great power and able to intervene on the world political stage according to its own diplomatic interest and being a force to contend with. Others however think that France is facing another Indochina-like fiasco in Mali. Who is right, will be determined by the failure or the success of the current operations and by the results of the restoration afterward. In this paper I would like to clarify the reasons for the events taking place in the country, their dynamics and possible consequences. keywords: Mali, AQIM, Boko Haram, Tuareg, Azawad, rebellion, France, USA, European Union, peacekeeping, Operation Serval,
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