Paper short abstract:

Since the beginning of the Malian crisis in 2012, little was said about Northerners who opposed the rebellion. This paper intends to historicize the opposition to the rebellion among the Songhay elite in Bamako and the promotion of a figure of a ‘good Northern citizen’, faithful to the Malian state.

Paper long abstract:

In 2012-2013, international media broadly covered the MNLA rebels' declaration of independence of Azawad, a territory spreading over Northern Mali. However, little was said about Northerners who opposed the rebellion. In Bamako, an important protest movement led by Northerners asked the successive governments to free their regions from the domination of secessionist rebels and jihadist groups. This paper analyzes the pro-Mali stance adopted by the leaders of this movement.

Although some Tuareg groups had a conflictual relationship with the Malian State, many Northerners used the administration as a lever of social ascension and political integration. Since colonial times, a Northern elite, predominantly Songhay, settled in Bamako to work in government. During the 2012-2013 crisis, the Songhay elite had to actively dissociate itself from the rebellion in order to escape the idea, widely spread in Bamako, that Northerners were potential enemies of the State. In addition to stigmatizing rebels as 'stateless', the Songhay elite promoted an original concept of 'good citizenship'. They endorsed a figure of the 'good citizen' that legitimized their strategies of political ascension: a citizen who dedicates his life to the general interest of the nation while working in the public service; both loyal to the Malian State and knowledgeable about the North; able to implement policies to help resolve the crisis; who understands the administration and the development world; and who therefore is an ideal candidate to represent his people.