THE ARAB SPRING AND SECURITY CHALLENGES IN AFRICA: FROM DECOLONIZATION TO NEOCOLONIALISM

Abstract

North Africa and the Sahelian zone have experienced the emergence of terrorism such as Boko Haram since 2011, the presence of Daesh in Libya and insecurity in the Sahel. The emergence of insecurity in the Sahel was facilitated by the weapons delivered to the Libyan rebels by France in 2011 during the battle of Tripoli led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with the aim of overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi. The Arab revolutions were supported by the United States and Europe with the aim of recolonizing the Arab world for the benefit of the Western bloc by seizing oil resources, particularly in Libya. The hopes expected during the popular uprisings have not been realized, the situation is disappointing for people who saw in the Arab Spring a possibility of emancipation of people who lived under authoritarian regimes. The United States and Europe share responsibility for the chaos and general insecurity orchestrated by the Arab Spring. It is the result of the imperialist policy of Europe and the United States towards nations possessing enormous natural resources and challenging the Western order. The idea of democratization of the Arab world has become for Europeans an element of colonization.