The geopolitics of the Sahel Alliance: an emancipatory and counter-hegemonic alternative

Abstract

The research analyzes the Alliance of the States of the Sahel as an anti-hegemonic geopolitical project, in the context of West Africa, emerging after the coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. This Alliance is a response to the legacy of French colonialism and neocolonialism, characterized by economic dependence, military interference, and the establishment of local governments subservient to foreign interests. Regional instability and the instrumentalization of terrorism by Western powers conditioned the emergence of military juntas with emancipatory and anti-imperialist agendas. In a context of intersystemic transition towards multipolarity, the coalition is conceptualized as a mechanism of alternative regional integration that seeks emancipation through collective defense, the expulsion of foreign troops, sovereignty over natural resources, and its alternative role to the supremacy of the West where the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation have increased their influence on the continent. Although its potential to challenge the Western order and promote endogenous development is highlighted, its limitations are recognized: its short existence and its limited capacity to project panAfrican influence and consolidate a unifying agenda in the face of opposition from regional organizations.