Building synergistic bridges of reflection and action is essential in the face of the continuing evolution of terrorism in West Africa. It is against this back drop that the International Academy Fighting against Terrorism (AILCT) recently paid a working visit to Timbuktu Institute – African Center For Peace Studies. The two institutions agreed on the urgent need to increase security cooperation across the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea.
It would be an understatement to say that in sub-Saharan Africa, the challenge of terrorism is more than ever of a clearly regional nature. The historical, geographical and socio-cultural settings in which the countries of the region operate has resulted in the regionalization of a problem that once seemed geographically circumscribed. Following the catalytic effect of NATO’s intervention in Libya in 2011, the gradual security disintegration of the Sahelian region was bound to spread to the Gulf of Guinea, within the coastal countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Ghana, etc.).
This has triggered a process of “Sahelization of the Gulf of Guinea”, as Dr. Lassana Diarra, Director of AILCT, puts it. According to Diarra, understanding and combating terrorism requires taking into account two key factors: “rational factors and irrational factors”. By rational factors, he continues, “we mean the causes linked to the socio-economic vulnerabilities present, and when we speak of irrational factors, it’s to encompass the constituent elements of the very ideology that drives the violent act.” In his view, the political and security situation in West Africa poses two of the most pressing challenges. In addition to the regionalization of the jihadist threat, there are now “worrying facts and situations of discord between the States themselves, which weaken or even obstruct the prospects for security cooperation”, regrets Dr. Lassana Diarra.
True to his ambition to forge a community and a culture based on effective synergy between strategic research, public policy and security forces, the AICLT director reiterated the academy’s vocation to serve as a ramp for the construction of appropriate solutions. “When we look at the complexity and evolution of the threat, the state of the sub-region is indeed worrying. However, the risk would be to give in to defeatism.
‘’That’s why we’re optimistic, because we’re confident in what we’re doing, and we’re committed and determined to tackle this multifaceted crisis,” Dr. Diarra further opined
Perception of Resolving ‘’Conflicts’’
In the Sahelian crisis, there is “a conflict of perceptions of the conflict between international approaches and local perceptions”, recalls Dr. Bakary Sambe. The Timbuktu Institute is aware of this key issue, and favors a bottom-up approach, by listening to local populations. According to the Timbuktu Institute’s Regional Director, in the face of jihadist contagion in coastal countries, it is imperative to draw inspiration from the Sahelian mistakes. “Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal belong to a typology of countries that are certainly at the heart of the dynamics in West Africa, but still have some room for maneuver to develop a preventive and forward-looking approach to this evil that no longer spares any country in the sub-region”, he observes.
From this perspective, cooperation is an “absolute necessity”, says Dr. Sambe. “Whatever the diplomatic crises between countries, it is vital to realize that we live in an age when we are all bound by the imperatives of collective security. Terrorism has made us all vulnerable to a global evil,” he says. In fact, it is vital to develop synergies between the worlds of research and decision-making. “We need to be able to exchange ideas on possible solutions and the best way forward.
To be able to develop strategic research on such a complex phenomenon with a leading institution such as AICLT is a constructive approach that is both welcome and appreciated,” says Dr. Sambe.
All in all, this visit marks the beginning of a strengthening of cooperation between the Timbuktu Institute and the AICLT. This includes prospects for joint projects in training, strategic research, threat analysis, high-profile actions by the AICLT, and the formulation of recommendations tailored to local realities.