Research Project at the Centre
International Intervention in Mali: Transformation and Legitimacy
International intervention in Mali did not start with the French military initiative in January 2013. In fact, the country was engaged in an ancient and close partnership with aid donors in the pre-coup scenario. However, international intervention in the country is ongoing transformations under the influence of humanitarian actors (emergency ONGs and UN specialised agencies), military and security actors and the launch of the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (Minusma) on July 1st 2013. While Mali’s political crisis has triggered a crisis of the aid regime, the modus operandi and purposes of international processes of involvement in Mali have shifted from development assistance for poverty reduction and aid efficiency towards a more fragmented superimposition of objectives and organisations intervening in a more complex and competitive environment.
The research project that will be pursued at the Centre seeks to inform those changes, trace the processes of their legitimation and acceptance amongst the population and account for their political effects, i.e. the way Malian politics is played out, the renewal (or not) of the ruling class, the balance of power between competing actors, the empowerment of certain political and social actors over others as well as the meanings and practices of the state, conflict and peace, sovereignty and democracy in the country.