This PhD investigates the development of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, with a particular focus on the distinction between terrorism and insurgency. The findings have been published in five peer... Show moreThis PhD investigates the development of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, with a particular focus on the distinction between terrorism and insurgency. The findings have been published in five peer-reviewed articles, and are joined by an introductory framework and a concluding chapter. The scene-setter contextualizes the problem of terrorism in Mali, describes the fragmented landscape of jihadist groups, analyzes how Tuareg separatism led to AQIM's control of northern Mali, and illustrates how shortcomings in national and local governance fueled insecurity. The second conceptual article analyzed whether AQIM should be regarded as terrorism, insurgency or organized crime, and concluded that - at the time of writing (2016) - most indicators pointed to the group following a strategy of terrorism. A treatise on methodology investigated the discrepancy between the international community's perception of Mali pre-2012 as a stable 'posterboy for democracy', while it was Mali that suffered a near-complete collapse in 2012. It concluded that a quantitative risk approach, rather than a qualitative threat approach, contributed to this misperception. The fourth article applied the first trinity from Clausewitz’s opus On War to Operation Serval, the French military operation to oust AQIM from northern Mali in 2013. Clear political goals, contingency planning, an audacious military operation combined with luck all helped France secure an initial victory against AQIM. The final article focused on potential pathways for AQIM to end, and concluded that in 2021 AQIM followed a strategy of insurgency, while much of the international response remained rooted in the paradigm of counterterrorism. Show less
In the past years, Mali has experienced an unprecedented rise in terrorism. After twenty years of relative peace, the country was shaken to its core in 2012 when a Tuareg-led rebellion overthrew... Show moreIn the past years, Mali has experienced an unprecedented rise in terrorism. After twenty years of relative peace, the country was shaken to its core in 2012 when a Tuareg-led rebellion overthrew the government and the northern parts of the country quickly turned into a safe haven for terrorist groups including Al Qaeda and - in later years - the Islamic State. From 2012 to 2022, a country that was once considered a prime example of African democracy, has been faced with a rapidly downward cycle in terms of stability and security. In the past three years alone, the military staged two coups and Mali is now ruled by a military regime. Two major military and political interventions by the French, operations Serval and Barkhane, the multiple efforts of ECOWAS, and a large UN-mission to the country, MINUSMA, were not able to turn the tide. In a country where it is already a challenge to draw clear lines between the multitude of terrorist, separatist, guerilla and auto-defense groups, it is even more difficult to understand how individuals become involved in terrorist groups. Seeking the answer to that question is the central aim of this study. Based on extensive research among policymakers, prison staff, the international community and those accused and/or sentenced for terrorism, this thesis conducts a multilevel analysis of the process of involvement in terrorism in Mali. The findings suggest that group-level factors including peer pressure, group think, societal tensions and fusion of values were best able to shed light on how individuals become involved with terrorist groups. Especially the relationship between citizens and the state turned out to be an important factor, with prisoners arguing they do not recognize the ruling elite, foreign actors or the borders of the country as they are drawn. With the combination of access to and analysis of unique primary source material, this study offers a nuanced and empirically grounded contribution to the academic and societal debate on terrorism involvement in Mali - with wider implications for the West-African context. While taking into account the inherently subjective nature of narratives, this thesis provides us with a better understanding of why individuals become terrorists given the specific cultural, historical and geographical context within which they have shared their stories. Show less
Based on rich and wide-ranging data, this thesis describes the sensitive issue of the contemporary emancipation trajectories of agro-pastoralist Fulɓe in Central Mali. It explores how people are... Show moreBased on rich and wide-ranging data, this thesis describes the sensitive issue of the contemporary emancipation trajectories of agro-pastoralist Fulɓe in Central Mali. It explores how people are currently dealing with hierarchies they inherited from past master-slave relations and focuses on the relational dynamics between members of a network of migrants. The importance of mobility to identity is explored by analyzing the tensions that exist among migrants to reproduce or change hierarchical relations in post-slavery societies. To purchase a copy, please email: asc@ascleiden.nl, or check www.ascleiden.nl, under Publications. Show less
This thesis concerns the traditional script of the Tuaregs, tifinagh. This script is a direct descendent of the Libyco-Berber script, which appeared in Northern Africa in the first millennium BCE.... Show moreThis thesis concerns the traditional script of the Tuaregs, tifinagh. This script is a direct descendent of the Libyco-Berber script, which appeared in Northern Africa in the first millennium BCE. Nowadays, it is used by most Tuareg populations in southern Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. The thesis focuses on the current form and usage of this script. On the basis of a large corpus of letter signs and texts gathered during fieldwork in Niger, and to a lesser extent Mali and Burkina Faso, the graphemic diversity of the script is shown, and the orthographic system is analyzed. The traditional Tifinagh script is basically consonantal, except for the fact that vowels are written in word-final position. Moreover, by means of ligatures, it is shown which consonants in a graphemic sequence are to be interpreted as a consonant cluster (in that case the ligature is used), and which are to be interpreted as consonants separated by a vowel in pronunciation (in that case two separated signs are used). The thesis also describes the many uses the Tifinagh script has in traditional usage. This ranges from personal administrative tasks to love letters and grafitti. It is shown that recently traditional Tifinagh have started to be used in printed media too. A new development is the creation of neo-Tifinagh systems - orthographies graphemically based on Tifinagh, but with different systems - esp. the introduction of vowel signs. The different proposals are analyzed as to their main inspirations, which are mainly the Arabic and the Latin script. The usage of these new systems is traced, both in personal contexts as in the printed media. The thesis also contains a chapter on the other two scripts in use for writing Tuareg, the Latin script and the Arabic script. For the first, it shows the history of orthograohic reforms in Niger and Mali since independence. For the latter, it provides a first analysis of the graphemes and orthography used in the age-old tradition of writing Tuareg in Arabic script. Show less
The Inland Niger Delta in Mali is scattered with thousands of tell-like dwelling mounds that testify to the rich archaeological heritage of this attractive occupation area. Little is known about... Show moreThe Inland Niger Delta in Mali is scattered with thousands of tell-like dwelling mounds that testify to the rich archaeological heritage of this attractive occupation area. Little is known about the structure and evolution of this considerable settlement system. The general aim of the present research was to obtain a better understanding of the history of occupation of this region. The aim of the regional survey in the southern part of the Niger alluvial plain was to obtain an understanding of intersite relations based on the sites’ chronological, functional, socioeconomic and hierarchical differentiation and their participation in different trade networks. The main foci of attention in the Dia excavation were the sites’ roles in the earliest colonisation of the southern Inland Niger Delta, the transition from the Late Stone Age to the Early Iron Age, the introduction of crop cultivation and pastoralism and the early urban development of the site and the region. The two datasets showed two different perspectives: the regional orientation of a survey and the site-specific depth of an excavation. Another interesting aspect of this approach is that it enabled comparison of finds recovered in an urban context with the results of a geographical survey of the rural hinterland.Part 2 is published titled "Recherches archéologiques à Dia dans le Delta intérieur du Niger (Mali) : bilan des saisons de fouilles 1998-2003" as part of the series "Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde (RVM) Leiden"; No 33. Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies, Leiden University. CNWS publications ; 144, 2005, ISBN 9789057891076 Show less
