In recent times the Sahel and the Horn of Africa have witnessed the emergence of a fragmented, but also larger Islamist militant front. In part as a result of the security gaps created by political turmoil in North Africa, militant groups have proliferated in number, while their activities have grown in both ambition and geographical reach. It is a redline that, unrolling from a spinning axis whose two ends are represented by Libya and Mali, has run across this vast geographical region with increasing speed.

Three major effects have originated from the Libyan and Malian crises. The first one is...

The popular uprisings that have shaken a number of Arab countries since 2011 have profoundly impacted the strategic landscape of North Africa and beyond, forcing external players such as the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) to adjust their political and security approaches. As the so–called Arab Spring has slid into political uncertainty, lingering insecurity and civil conflict, European and American initial enthusiasm for anti–authoritarian protests has given way to growing concerns that revolutionary turmoil in North Africa may in fact have exposed EU countries and the United States to new risks.

Critical in spreading and...

It is currently popular to talk of Africa as a continent on the cusp of an era of transformative growth, made possible by unprecedented levels of stability and improved standards of governance. While there is much evidence to support the “Africa Rising” narrative, a strong countervailing trend is in evidence in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.

The Sahel, a band of weak states stretching from Senegal in the west to Sudan and Eritrea in the east, is beset by a host of challenges. These include food insecurity compounded by high fertility rates and the impact of climate change;...

Located at the southern end of the Sahara desert, the Sahel runs for at least 4,500km from Senegal through Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, and blends into the less arid Sudanese–Sahel belt to its southern edge.¹ The Sahel is bordered by the Mediterranean Arab countries² to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. A transitional zone historically, the Sahel has had deep–rooted commercial, cultural and political connections with both sides of the Sahara desert. A distinguishing feature of this interaction is the trans–Saharan trade.

Trade networks in the area were long controlled by...

This chapter takes a political perspective of the Sahel, therefore broader than a strictly geographical one. This political understanding of the Sahel also integrates states geographically peripheral to the Sahel but nonetheless closely involved in the security dynamics of the Sahelian- Saharan zone. After recalling the ongoing security dynamics in the region, with a special focus on religious extremism and drug trafficking, it discusses this issue in terms of transatlantic and regional cooperation. It finally identifies the issues that require closer cooperation between international, regional and national stakeholders.

The Arab Spring has been a source of major geopolitical changes in...

The Horn of Africa is a region of the East African peninsula comprising the states of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and (most recently) South Sudan. These are also the member states of the political regional grouping known as the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD). As in other parts of Africa, the Horn is plagued by ongoing instability and insecurity, exacerbated by the close interdependence of its constituent states, unfavourable climate and environmental conditions as well as, importantly, by the geo–strategic interests and ensuing initiatives of international actors.

The distinction between the internal and the international dynamics...