The influence of the crisis in the Republic of Mali on the political situation of the Sahel

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the crisis in the Republic of Mali, a country with the largest democratic advances in West Africa in the nineties. However, in 2012 and 2013 Mali experienced a crisis which had led to a military coup. The collapse of state institutions in Mali destabilized the entire region. The author of article devoted particular attention to the process of decentralization of power in the nineties. A series of reforms that gave hope to alleviate the Tuareg issue. The author tried to describe the origins of the crisis in Mali in 2012/2013. She focused on the issue of the Tuareg returning from Libya and an accurate description of the course of events. The declarations of independence of Azawad, the military coup, Tuareg denial by the Islamists or the entry of the French army to Mali are the key points of these events. The author mentioned also the presidential elections that bring a chance for stabilization in Mali. As the events in the Sahel have an impact on other countries in the region the author would like to present the effects of the crisis on the situation in Niger, Mali and Libya. The author’s aim was to present a forecast of opportunities and threats for Mali and the region. This topic is very dynamic, the situation in Mali seemed to stabilize but the violence erupted further in the northern part of the country.

Keywords

• Mali
• the Tuareg
• crisis
• uprising