By Christine Nissen
MAIN FINDINGS
- Europe’s security pivot: Europe’s swift shift from the Sahel to Eastern Europe underscores the challenge of balancing multiple security priorities amidst global threats.
- Adapting to a new world order: the decline of the liberal international order presents hurdles to Europe’s engagement in the Sahel, demanding adaptation to a changing global landscape dominated by non-liberal actors.
- Rise of alternative partnerships: With Europe’s retreat, the Sahel is seeing the rise of pragmatic partnerships with Russia and China, reflecting a shift towards transactional engagements amid a changing global order.
A few years ago Africa’s Sahel region sat at the top of the EU’s foreign policy and security agenda. European member states were mobilising significant resources to address the security challenges of the region. This changed overnight on the 24th of February 2022 when Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine and resurrected the spectre of conventional war on the European continent. From that day all Europe’s focus was directed to the Eastern threat, and European presence in the Sahel has since been scaled down. The Russian war in Ukraine is not the only reason why Europe is scaling down ambitions in the Sahel. Indeed, growing anti-Western sentiment amongst Sahelian governments and populations, and increasing resistance to European, and not least French, interference have made it challenging for European countries to stay engaged in the region. The Ukraine War and the European re-focus eastwards is symptomatic of the changing global order, which tells a broader story of European – African relations in crisis. The world is changing – and European governments are struggling to decide how to position themselves within it. In the short term Europe emerges as the primary loser due to its limited readiness to navigate this evolving landscape.