(In)Security in the Sahel: Actors Logics and the Future of Governance
the resurgence of military coups raise the question of the future of governance in the Sahel. Unlike the post-colonial coups d'état carried out for political emancipation, the coups d'état perpetrated in the Sahel between 2020 and 2023 are taking place in a context of increasing securitization and risk policies.
The resurgence of military coups in the context of rising risks and securitization requires the call for other analytical concepts to understand the return of military coups in the context of an expanding counter-terrorism logic. Some theorists in security studies point out that securitization flourishes in a risk society. Drawing on the concept of risk by Ulrich Beck and its appropriation in security studies, this article departs from the idea that risk has triumphed in the context of the proliferation of armed groups and the rise of asymmetric conflict in the Sahel. However, risks by their very nature cannot be eradicated but only managed. In addition to the emergency and exceptionalism policies that triumphed in this context, the Sahel has moved on to permanent risk governance policies. This article attempts to read the resurgence of coups d'Etat in the Sahel between 2020 and 2023 as a response to the permanent adjustment of risk governance in the context of evolving violence and securitization.