Why Sahel is crucial for the West

By Dr. Anna Konstantinidou , Historian

The Sahel are will determine the diplomatic developments on the African continent. Libya is simply the “fuse” as it seems, in order to accelerate a series of actions, by International Diplomacy and especially the West, for the environment of the wider geographical area. And while in fact the Muslim countries of Africa are seen as the means for the development of Islamist organizations, the Western countries viewed the state in a different light – and on the basis of their ethnicity (eg Arabs in North Africa, African tribes in the rest of the states).
Unfortunately, the West has not been able to see until very recently that, despite its multiracialism, this geographical area had in the meantime developed a “code of communication” between its countries based on Political Islam..
When the states of the western environment realized the dynamics of Religion, it was too late, as Turkey had already artificially penetrated Africa. And even though a large International Organization already in 2017 had commissioned “think tanks’’ to research the Sahel region in order to “decode”, and therefore to adjust its political planning for this geographical area, unfortunately the Turkish factor had already infiltrated since 2010 and was very strong in these state formations of the African continent. The reason for writing this article-study was the departure of the construction sites of the French energy company, TOTAL from Palma, Mozambique after its occupation by Jihadists. Although Mozambique does not belong geographically to the “strip” called the Sahel, nevertheless two things are proven for this geographical area (highlighting its diplomatic importance): a. is the imaginary limit of Westernism that finds the obstacle of Islam and b. ideologically unites multiracial Africa and more specifically the Arab world of the north (and the Middle East in general) with the African world. It is necessary to mention that the Sahel region extends from the west to the east of the African continent, including entire countries, as well as geographical parts of some others and more specifically of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burgina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Central and (region) South Sudan, ending in Eritrea.

To understand how European colonialism worked and what effects it has left in West, Central and East Africa that are becoming more visible than ever before, in the context in which these countries, most of which are attached to the ideological chariot of the Turkish state, operate is imperative. to see how the continent Africa and the subsets that make it up as state entities were treated by the Western factor

The colonial model of the West in the Middle East and Africa: The different approaches that led to today’s results:
It is important to stress that the regions of East, West, Central and South Africa had been placed under a protectionist regime by a Western country long before the societies of the Middle East (ie the Arab world) and that is because by 19 th century colonial penetration was aimed at discovering areas with large agricultural areas and mineral wealth, in order to ensure the livelihood of European societies and new countries in the West. After the 19 th century the securing of energy resources was the divine law for the welfare of nations. Thus, the West ‘s interest in the assets of the area changed on the basis of the needs of its societies.

The way in which the colonial doctrine was established took on specific forms and dimensions, which were related to a set of factors, such as the cultural and economic background of the colonial metropolis, the geographical location of the acquisition, the ethnic / racial origin of the colonists and the economic importance of the region for the interests of the colonial power. For this reason, we observe that the colonial structures of the Middle East were governed on a different basis and another colonial regime “worked” in the state entities of Africa. The diverse colonization left its mark on the geographical location that the former Western colonies in the southeastern Mediterranean developed politically and economically after 1960.
Differentiated colonization, focuses and is felt through the “mechanisms” adopted in several colonies from the early 20 th century and how they were transformed or continued to exist during the period of decolonization. A scholar of History and International Relations could observe that while the majority of the countries of the Middle East entered into a regime of European protectionism after – mainly – after the signing of European Treaties that legitimized – artfully through the regime of “Commands” – the continuation of the Western presence in them, on the contrary, the majority of African state formations were subjected to the colonial system of government using military means and under the pretext of “civilization”. It is therefore understood that the forms of penetration on the African continent took – mainly until the decolonization – the form of religious proselytism and cultural promotion through educational education, while in the Middle East, financial aid had become the means of Western Diplomacy. and protectorates. The qualitative characteristics of colonialism in the two regional geographical parts are related to the cultural-ethnological background of the respective societies.

Although the Arabs were nomadic tribes, their cultural existence was equated with the adoption of elements and traits by the already developed peoples who either adjacent to or came in contact with the Arab lands due to their constant relocations or military invasions. . On the contrary, the African Communities had developed local, peculiar cultures, which were formed on the basis of the daily life of the inhabitants and on the other hand the natural and climatic environment of the wider region. In simpler words, the Arabs -idi the 19 < sup > a </ sup > century-had formed a significantly high level cultural understanding in order to have the possibility of two things: a. to claim in any way and by any means the rights of their cultural self-existence against the interests of the colonialists and b. the colonialists could not impose on them the European culture that was contrary to the cultural stock of their societies
In view of the above, the Arabs had already shaped their environments into the element of the Muslim religion. In contrast, state formations in Africa, which were, among other things, rural societies with no knowledge of martial arts, were therefore an easier target for the colonialists than those of the Arabs.
Africa since 16th century was for the Westerners the “feed” in terms of working resources (slave trade), for the industrial development of their societies, as well as the geographical part that strengthened Europe with raw materials and agricultural goods for the survival of its societies. On the other hand, when the countries of the Middle East came under indirect protectionism, the colonial model had changed, as the survival of European societies gave way to industrial development and therefore the Middle East with its energy wealth was and is useful. to date . Thus, in Africa, the Europeans, using religion and education as a means of achieving their expansion, consequently (mainly in the decades 1960-1970 etc.), by projecting the argument of Humanism, had divided it into spheres of influence. Not only that, but the Westerners, through this separation, had succeeded in splitting artificially identical ethnic groups on the one hand, with obvious results for these societies to this day, on the other hand, being the generative cause for these countries to prefer to join the “chariot” today. Of Turkey. The rivalries between the local national groups that “originated” from the exploitation of the land in combination with their subordination to different colonialists intensified the climate of civil conflicts between the natives of an area.

On African soil, each local group had created an autonomous culture that pushed aside the dimension of nation or race. The guardian used conceptually to denote the leader of a group is essentially interpreted as the leading figure of a local community and in no case the leader of the tribe. Exemplary examples of all of the above problems that reflect how African and Sahel-centric societies today deal with the Western factor are best known to the general public: North and South Sudan, Huttu and Tutsi in Rwanda, and Selassie in Ethiopia.

The Huttus and the Tutsis in Rwanda, who, although identical in ethnicity, developed the distinctive development of a local peculiarity as the springboard for their separation from the Belgian colonialists. Even years after the decolonization of the region, these two (identical) ethnic groups could not overcome their local – essentially – conflicts, entering into a civil war (1994) with adverse effects on members of their societies. In addition, another strong example that demonstrated the “investment” of Europeans through local, ethnic competition to infiltrate these environments is Sudan, which in 2011, due to the difficult internal issues (brought about by the colonialism of previous decades) was divided into North and South. . The third example is Ethiopia with Haile Selassie. The United States in the 1970s had entered the state environment as a donor country. With the help of the Americans, Selassie had become a cold tyrant of the Ethiopians, distributing the land to the great landowners and impoverishing the people. The Jack A . Nelson in his book, Hunger for Justice – the politics of food and faith , has a very characteristic, personal image of the treatment they received as American students when they visited Addis Ababa in 1972. He says: “We had the impression that we Americans are very popular as a generous nation. It was an illusion you saw when Americans visited very poor areas and were surprised by the reactions of local communities. An example is the twenty-eight students we visited in 1972 for a month in Ethiopia. Our Ethiopian Professor was very competitive and not at all friendly towards us, although the American state from 1946 to 1976 was a financial supporter of Ethiopia, sending military equipment and building schools and hospitals… ».This excerpt shows how donors countries through local governments had managed to “impose” their presence in the region .

Africa (and especially the Sahel region), a field of competition between today’s West and the Islamic factor.
In the International Economic System, these countries that are still called the Third World today are the least developed countries, most of them of which are located on the African continent. Many – mainly sociologists – believe that the result of the underdevelopment of these areas is due to the fact that both the vertical growth of the population and the soil is disproportionately small in relation to the people who inhabit it. However, Marios Nikolinakos in his book “Dependence and Economic Development” notes: ‘’The population problem does not consist of a disproportion between the population and the land, but a disproportion between the population and the level of development of the productive forces and production relationships. As the population grows, while the economy remains stagnant, the question must be asked as to what is to blame for this abnormal development. (One of the answers) to explain this gap is the socio-political and political-economic context of the economic system that hinders the development of the economy… “.

This view is evident through the way the West has dealt with these countries since 1970, with the result that after 2010 Turkey finds a way to penetrate these essentially “poor” environments. Most of these countries could not develop economically because they were not interested – after their decolonization – in the West. They had become colonies at a time when the colonial model was based on the transportation of raw materials and products of the primary sector, in order for the western states to provide a tolerant standard of living for their citizens. Since the early 20 th c. and especially since 1960, energy-rich countries have shown interest in the West. Of course, many African countries have energy and mineral wealth, such as Mozambique or other South African countries, but until recently most of its countries did not have much interest.

At the same time, in these states, one more element – regardless of their geophysical wealth, is the unstable internal environment (result of colonialism) with the constant civil conflicts that becomes a deterrent in order to attract foreign investment, while on the other hand, although the lack of institutional organization in most of these societies with the anarchic system of political governance helps installation of offshore companies ( off shore ) western interests, but this fact eliminates the possibility of developing a stable financial system (imports, exports, investments, investment agreements, etc.). The majority of the inhabitants of these countries have a very low standard of living, as a result of which it becomes easy “prey” of states that enter these societies through artificial methods. Many scholars believe that Islamism is evolving rapidly in these geographical areas, due to high unemployment in the lower social and economic strata as a consequence – in addition to all the above that have already been analyzed – of the collapse and collapse of known economic systems. , capitalism and communism. The “guides” and “teachers” of Islam themselves, in order to approach the specific environments, formulate the theory that with only the pillar of the religion of Islam, the states (all without exception and especially these) will be able to cope with the economic problems they face. .

In 2010, when the world economic system was shaken by the Lehmann Brothers Crash , bringing about a series of sharp reshuffles not only in the powerful western economies, but also in the economies of states that were directly or indirectly dependent on the powerful (and especially the West), this economic domino resulted in the emergence of movements and especially religious ones in environments that had the potential to strengthen them in every way. Turkey, as such a country, with the springboard of the Muslim societies of North Africa, was able to penetrate the societies of the Sahel region. The African countries of this “geographical strip” for decades, as the Western factor was not willing to offer its financial assistance, had developed close relations with the Arab countries lying in the north of the African continent.

The “gap” left by the European “donor” until 2017 in Africa was managed to be filled by Turkey, which through Islamist institutes and the provision of financial aid, as well as manning its army with mercenaries from these areas, is considered as helper for the states concerned. On the other hand, the West is now determined to return to these environments, using for the Sahel region the familiar social recruits that the countries of this geographical area have with the North African states, and more specifically with those of Egypt and Libya ( and secondarily Tunisia and Morocco).

Bibliography

Panagiotis Glavinis, Mechanisms of power redistribution in the international economic system, Athens: Papazisis, 2019.
Anna Konstantinidou, Islam and the Energy Issue in the Southeastern Mediterranean, Thessaloniki: K & amp ; M Stamouli / I. Harpantidi, 2019
Robert Gilpin , The Political Economy of International Relations, vol. II, Athens: Gutenberg , 2000
Peter Burnell, Economic Nationalism in the Third World, Sussex: Harvester Press, 1986
Andrew Heywood , International Relations and Politics in the World Era, Athens: Review, 2014
Christos Quartzias, Political Islam, Athens: Domios, 2001.

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