Overview

The states of North Africa have undergone unprecedented political change in the past two years. Much of the policy and academic community has been focusing on the momentous developments in Tunis, Tripoli, and Cairo. Less attention has been paid to developments far to the south of these capitals, where the new security challenges are emerging on the Saharan periphery. The Sahara has always suffered from fragile governance and transnational threats such as Islamist militancy, illicit smuggling, and ethnic conflict. However, these interlocking problems have increased dramatically in the post-2011 period. The sources and enablers of instability are complex and in many cases deeply ingrained in the flawed political institutions, weak capacity, and longstanding societal fissures of the individual states, rather than transnational actors like al Qaeda or external shocks like the Libyan Revolution. Based on the authors' extensive fieldwork in the region, this volume canvasses the Saharan security landscape, focusing specifically on the sources of change and continuity since 2011. It explores the relationships between weak governance, demographic and ethnic tensions, and external stressors like illicit smuggling, terrorism, and the flow of arms.Contents Foreword, Marwan Muasher Introduction, Frederic Wehrey 1. The Struggle for Security in Eastern Libya, Frederic Wehrey 2. Borderline Chaos? Stabilizing Libya's Periphery, Peter Cole 3. Organized Crime and Conflict in the Sahel-Sahara Region, Wolfram Lacher 4. The Paranoid Neighbor: Algeria and the Conflict in Mali, Anouar Boukhars 5. The Drivers of Insecurity in Mauritania, Anouar Boukhars 6. Mauritania's Islamists, Alex Thurston 7. Simmering Discontent in the Western Sahara, Anouar Boukhars Conclusion, Frederic Wehrey and Anouar Boukhars

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