Crisis in the Sahel: The European Union at a Crossroad: DOI: http://dx.doi.org.10.18847/1.20.8

Abstract

This article breaks with the predominant liberal-idealist literature by analysing the European Union’s (EU) interventions in the Sahel through a realist approach. Thus, in this theorical framework we develop the concept and function of great power politics, analysing the role of the EU and its Member States on the international stage. Discerning how power relations work, and thus how the different actors relate to each other in terms of security, is the first step towards understanding the failure of European missions and regionalisation policy in the Sahel, as well as the end of Euro-Sahelian cooperation in the cases of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The main conclusion is the absence of a strategic role for the European organisation. As well as the interest of EU states in intervening in the Sahel in relation to the opportunity to increase their influence - especially in the case of France - and acting against security threats.