EU migration and security policy in the Sahel

The Sahel region has over recent years emerged as a central nexus of violent extremism and trafficking networks and an increasingly important area of international focus. A multitude of international actors are now jockeying for position and influence, pouring vast amounts of money into one of the world’s poorest regions.  For their part, European states have steadily intensified their regional efforts in response to a succession of destabilising events, from the 2012 Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali and subsequent jihadist occupation of the area to the migration crisis that swept Europe from 2015.

To mark the launch of a new paper, Halting ambition: EU migration and security policy in the Sahel, by ECFR’s senior Sahel expert, Andrew Lebovich, this event will explore shifting political and security dynamics across the Sahel, the challenges facing ongoing European stabilisation efforts, as well as the increasing focus on regional approaches aimed at strengthening a more integrated response to the evolving threats. This will include discussion on increasingly pronounced security links between the Sahel and North Africa. The recently strengthened presence of Chadian armed groups in Libya, the June border protection agreement between Libya, Niger, Chad and Mali, and the ongoing involvement of Algeria in the Malian theatre all highlight the entangled nature of security between the Sahel and its northern neighbours, which Europeans need to better understand if they are to advance meaningful stabilisation polices across both regions.

 

EU migration and security policy in the Sahel

Monday, 8 October, 10.30 – 12.00
ECFR, Entrance: Rosmarinstrasse 1, 10117 Berlin

with

Andrew Lebovich (@tweetsintheME) is a Visiting Fellow for ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. Andrew is based in New York where he studies North Africa and the Sahel as a Doctoral candidate at Columbia University. He previously worked for the Open Society Initiative in West Africa (OSIWA) as a Sahel Advisor.

Robert Dölger is Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. He was previously Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Ankara, Head of the Near East Division, was posted to Burkina Faso, and has worked on Middle East and African Markets during a secondment to the German Association of Industries.

Melanie Müller is a Research Fellow with the Middle East and Africa Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. She holds a PhD from the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the Free University of Berlin. Her research focuses on migration from West Africa, as well as political and social developments in Southern Africa.

Chloe Teevan (@ChloeTvan) is Programme Coordinator for ECFR's Middle East and North Africa Programme, where her role focuses on the strategic planning and development of the programme’s North Africa and Sahel work.

Please register by Friday 5 October to [email protected]