Crisis in Mali: Interrelationship of major actors

Abstract

This article provides comprehensive analysis of interrelationship of the main actors of Malian conflict in 2012-2021, based on official statements, documents, press reports and field studies. The analysis is focused on the main groups of actors and the complex nature of relationships within the system, based on the "mutual intersection" of actors at several levels - transnational, state and local (ethnic). The authors consider a complex of political and economic reasons that affects the change in the loyalty of actors - the general level of poverty, the issue of controlling routes of smuggling and drug trafficking, the unique political agenda of different groups, close tribal, family and friendly ties between representatives of the same classes and clans representing different actors. In the paper are also analyzed the main events that make it possible to talk about the type of relations between actors. Researchers pay special attention to non-state actors - former rebels and ethnic militias, which form the systems of relations among the actors of the Malian conflict and actively use violence, the monopoly on which de jure belongs only to the state. Authors analyze the position of foreign actors (France, EU, UN) and emergence of new, non-violent methods of combating terrorism, since the anti-terrorist operations "Serval" and "Barkhan" were not successful and did not destroy the terrorist groups in the Sahara-Sahel region. All these facts signal about a further change in the relationship among the actors and, as a result, new challenges and opportunities in the settlement of the Malian conflict.