13/2024

Having faced a series of coup d’états in recent years, the Sahel region is marked by instability and it raises fundamental security questions for Europe. In a context where European governments are responding to Russia’s war on Ukraine, and where crisis management is viewed with less salience, the Sahel remains a dynamic region that requires continued European strategic and political attention. Not only does the Sahel region continue to produce political dynamics and effects that directly implicate European security interests, but it is a region that is increasingly entangled with global strategic competition. This CSDS In-Depth Paper outlines some of the core security dynamics at play in the Sahel and how they impact Europe. It provides four brief scenarios, followed by policy recommendations, to assist with thinking about possible courses of action in the Sahel in the coming years.

In-Depth Paper 13/2024