At first glance, the creation in 2014 of the G5 Sahel, an international organisation set up to deal with conflict management in the Sahel, seemed unlikely. Some analysts were already describing a “security traffic jam” in the region. This was in reference to the fact that there were a range of actors involved in conflict management in the Sahel.
Indeed, there were already structures in place, notably the African Peace and Security Architecture. As I showed in my earlier research, African and non-African governments promoted this architecture vigorously – at least on paper. With that institutional framework as a backbone – combined with widespread international support – the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sought to play an active role in conflict management in the Sahel.
