'Why do individuals join a violent extremist group? What are the drivers behind this decision? And how do we prevent it? These questions have long occupied the academic and policy spaces, and continue to do so given that violent extremism is still one of the top national and international security threats....'

Continue reading this Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project blog post on MEDIUM.

Mali has faced more than a decade of armed violence perpetrated by extremists, resulting in thousands of victims among national and international armed forces, UN peacekeepers, and civilians.   

'In 2013, the United Nations Security Council pledged to ‘increase its attention to women, peace and security issues in all relevant thematic areas of work on its agenda, including … threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts’.

'In January 2022, in a bid to stem a tide of violent attacks and kidnappings in north-western Nigeria, the government labelled the armed groups involved in the violence as "terrorists". The relationship between these groups and the internationally designated terrorist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province in north-eastern Nigeria was unclear. But the decision illustrated growing concern that violent extremism might spread to the country's north-west. It also raised questions about the types of measures that were needed to prevent escalation of violence...'

The Sahel is home to a number of marginalized borderlands—such as Libya’s southern border region—characterized by the movement and activities of various armed groups, the absence of strong state institutions, and the prevalence of disparaged communities. Potentially, the combination of these factors makes the subregion more exposed to risk and individuals raised in such borderlands can be especially vulnerable to recruitment by violent extremist groups.