Defence Research Network: Problematic quick fixes for Africa’s (Counter)Insurgencies

Sorina Toltica‘s new blog post for the Defence Research Network discusses the challenges of countering today’s insurgencies in Mali, Sahel and other regions of the African continent. It argues that complex conflicts require more than just strong borders, and careful consideration needs to be given in the future to the way that both military and development solutions contribute to both short- and long-term local dynamics.

Read the blog post on the Defence Research Network’s website.

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This month’s newsletter on counterinsurgency can be accessed here.

The Defence Research Network is an interdisciplinary network of Masters, PhD and Early Career Researchers focused on defence, security and military topics in relation to policy, strategy, history, culture and society. 

 

 

France’s War in the Sahel and the Evolution of Counter-Insurgency Doctrine

Michael Shurkin, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, documents the evolution of French counterinsurgency (COIN) practices and doctrines from 19th-century colonial operations & the Cold War to present day Operation Barkhane, which began in 2014. He argues that the French military is currently limiting itself to focusing on security in the anticipation that others will do the political work.

Read more on Texas National Security Review