Short Abstract

This panel questions prevalent interpretations of recent sovereigntist discourses in the Sahel by analyzing how sovereignty, political autonomy and external dependence are understood by Sahelian citizens.

Long Abstract

The resurgence of sovereigntist discourses in the context of recent political transformations in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger has attracted considerable international attention. This development is frequently interpreted as anti-Westernism, populism, military authoritarianism, or geopolitical realignment. Although such interpretations may highlight individual facets of these dynamics, they rely on prevalent Euro-American paradigms for understanding political aspirations that are articulated in the Sahel itself. Contemporary Sahelian sovereigntist discourses express broader aspirations for political agency, control over national resources, security autonomy, recognition, and the renegotiation of unequal relations with external powers. They thus reflect a more complex and historically grounded quest for autonomy and cannot be reduced to a rejection of Western influence.

To rethink dominant discourses and expand the extant literature on sovereigntism by shifting the analytical lens from observing the Sahel to examining political claims from within, this panel seeks to explore sovereigntism from a Sahelian perspective, asking how sovereignty, political autonomy and external dependence are understood by Sahelian political and social actors themselves. To contribute to the 2027 ECAS theme “African Prisms”, we invite submissions that analyze the meanings attributed to sovereignty in local political discourses; the historical experiences, socio-economic conditions and grievances that shape these understandings in the countries of the region; or the imagined futures expressed within this frame in music and other cultural productions.

Submissions and presentations may be in English or French.

This Panel has 1 pending paper proposal.
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