Quand la puissance se disperse : les relations entre le Sahara-Sahel et le Maghreb depuis la chute du colonel Kadhafi (2011-2018)
Résumé
When power disperses: the relationships between the Sahara-Sahel and the Maghreb since the fall of Colonel Gaddafi (2011-2018)
This article follows, from a chronological perspective, the evolutions of the relationships between the Maghreb (Algeria and Libya) and the Sahara-Sahel (Mali and Niger) since the fall of Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. It analyzes both the contentious behaviours of local stakeholders and the diplomatic responses to them formulated especially by Algeria. If Algiers’s strategy was originally designed to fill in the political void left by Libya, it is now trying to combine security constraints and political involvement through mediation. As a result, the country’s foreign policy regarding the region is today torn between old practices derived from its past experiences and their necessary adaptation to the current internationalized context of the Sahara-Sahel.
This article follows, from a chronological perspective, the evolutions of the relationships between the Maghreb (Algeria and Libya) and the Sahara-Sahel (Mali and Niger) since the fall of Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. It analyzes both the contentious behaviours of local stakeholders and the diplomatic responses to them formulated especially by Algeria. If Algiers’s strategy was originally designed to fill in the political void left by Libya, it is now trying to combine security constraints and political involvement through mediation. As a result, the country’s foreign policy regarding the region is today torn between old practices derived from its past experiences and their necessary adaptation to the current internationalized context of the Sahara-Sahel.
Cet article suit, dans une perspective chronologique, les évolutions des relations entre le Maghreb (Algérie et Libye) et le Sahara-Sahel (Mali, Niger) depuis la chute de Kadhafi en 2011. Il s’intéresse à la fois aux pratiques contestataires des acteurs saharo-sahéliens et aux réponses diplomatiques qui y sont apportées en se concentrant sur la diplomatie algérienne. Si celle-ci a été pensée comme capable de combler le vide politique laissé par la Libye, l’Algérie tente aujourd’hui de combiner mesures sécuritaires et engagement dans la médiation politique, ce qui crée, dans un contexte diplomatique internationalisé, une tension permanente entre le recours aux méthodes de gestion passées des relations avec le Sahara-Sahel et leur nécessaire adaptation.