Re-mapping the Sahel: transnational security challenges and international responses

States – whether classified as strong or fragile – and nations still matter in the Sahel, but local and country dynamics are better understood in the broader regional context.

The report underscores the necessity for a concerted and comprehensive regional approach, whose importance is increasingly confirmed by security threats that do not stop where state borders are drawn. The pertinence of such an approach has been confirmed by the appearance of ‘Sahel Strategy’ documents drawn up by different institutions, including the EU, reflecting a flexibility and a pragmatism in adapting international responses that is much needed.