CEsA Working Paper No. 204/2025 analyses insecurity and terrorism in the Sahel Region
CEsA Working Paper No. 204/2025, entitled “Insegurança e Terrorismo na Região do Sahel” (Insecurity and Terrorism in the Sahel Region) examines jihadist groups that resort to coercive activities to pursue political and religious objectives
Terrorism in the Sahel tends to arise in countries where there are territorial disputes near borders, conflicts over the possession or use of natural resources, or tensions stemming from the transhumance of herders and nomadic peoples, as well as cattle theft. However, it is the violence rooted in religious tensions that most severely threatens the survival of those living in this arid region, already afflicted by drought. Terrorism, therefore, thrives in the Sahel due to political, religious, and socio-economic factors.
CEsA Working Paper No. 204/2025, entitled “Insegurança e Terrorismo na Região do Sahel” (Insecurity and Terrorism in the Sahel Region), analyses jihadist groups that resort to coercive practices and exploit vulnerable, conservative or fundamentalist populations in order to pursue political-religious objectives. In doing so, they manipulate complex strategic settings, with disastrous consequences for both the present and the future of the countries involved. The publication is authored by CEsA researcher Maria Sousa Galito, who holds a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the Institute for Political Studies of the Catholic University of Portugal.
CEsA Working Paper No. 204/2025 can be downloaded via the following link: https://cesa.rc.iseg.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/WP-204-2025.pdf
Abstract:
If terrorism is political violence against civilians or unarmed people, it can either be employed by an autocratic state, or be instrumental in the subversive activity of paramilitary groups seeking to overthrow governments or change the current system. It is a phenomenon distinct from war or guerrilla warfare, although it can be an available resource in a hybrid conflict that also includes mercenaries and militias. This article gives examples of insecurity and terrorism in the Sahel region. It analyses jihadist groups that resort to coercive activities, therefore abusing vulnerable, conservative or fundamentalist peoples in order to achieve political-religious goals, and thus manipulating complex strategic stages with disastrous repercussions for the present and future of the countries involved. Secondary bibliography was used for scientific research and analysis, seeking an innovative and multifactorial approach to explaining a phenomenon that is difficult to eradicate in the Sahel, for the reasons identified.
About the author:
Maria Sousa Galito holds a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the Institute for Political Studies of the Catholic University of Portugal and is a researcher at CEsA/ISEG Research/ISEG-Universidade de Lisboa.
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Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Image: Reproduction
