Inter-Institutional Linkages and Great Power Influence : The G5 Sahel, France, and the EU in Sahelian Security Governance

Abstract: Within international security governance and crisis management practice, there has been an increase in inter-institutional cooperation and multi-actor security initiatives. While many studies have attempted to shed light on the factors that determine the emergence of these inter-institutional security governance initiatives, many have approached the subject from a liberal-institutionalist perspective, giving only scant attention to the role of hegemons and great powers in these processes. To contribute to closing this gap, this study focuses on the role of hegemonic influence in the emergence and assemblage of inter-institutional (sub)regional security governance arrangements. It specifically focuses on Mali and the Sahel region following the 2012 Malian crisis, tracing the process through which inter-institutional cooperation between the G5S-JF and EUTM Mali became established by laying focus on the role of France as an extra-regional hegemon with a security agenda in the region. The study explores the role of French influence by outlining France’s preferences, actions, and narrations and explaining how they influenced the EU’s decision to operationally support the G5S-JF. The study also highlights the need to investigate how relations between resident powers and extra-regional hegemons shape the emergence, evolution, and decline of international organisations and regional security governance configurations.