African Military Politics in the Sahel

Based on extensive empirical research, Katharina P.W. Döring analyses the politics surrounding military deployments in the Sahel since 2012 and stresses the agency of regional organizations in African-led military interventions. Drawing on insights from critical geography, she considers the role that space plays in the power dynamics of the region.

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Challenging western and francocentric accounts of military interventions in the Sahel, Katharina P. W. Döring foregrounds the response of African regional organizations to armed violence since 2012. Based on extensive empirical research, she reconstructs the experiences of African intervenors in planning and deploying missions in the region. The book outlines the complex constellation of actors who shape African military politics, including presidents, diplomats, and bureaucrats. Drawing upon insights from critical geography, Döring considers the oft-neglected role that space – at once relational and changing – plays in the power dynamics of the region. In so doing, she offers a fresh perspective on military deployments and their politics. Amidst the current resurgence of nationalist geopolitics, this study and its findings have far-reaching implications for the analysis of military politics in Africa and beyond.