Regional Security in Mali: Conflict Resolution and US Assistance

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the regional security issues in Mali, focusing on the political and military turmoil that affects the country's social structure, governance, and citizen security. It examines the instability of the Malian government, the military capabilities, and the critical need for assistance from the United States and the United Nations. The report highlights the intolerance of the Tuareg community, their alliance with Al Qaeda, and the resulting civil conflicts that have led to security lapses and the breakdown of civil regulations. It further discusses the necessity of US military and economic support to establish regional security and implement democratic practices, as well as the role of the United Nations in peacekeeping, economic aid, and addressing the failing democracy. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of local, national, and regional government involvement in resolving the conflict and establishing good governance to ensure peace and stability in Mali.

Running head: CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Conflict Resolution
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Stability of the Government.............................................................................................................2
Military Capability...........................................................................................................................4
Support from US..............................................................................................................................4
Role of United Nations....................................................................................................................5
Reasons behind US’s Involvement..................................................................................................6
Role of Local, National and Regional Government........................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference.......................................................................................................................................10

2CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Introduction
Political turmoil is one of the most powerful issue that can affect the social situation of
the country as well. In the context of the democratic nations it can be said that any disruption
between the political parties hamper the process of election. This in turn creates significant
impact on the social structure, the governance of the country and the security of the citizens. It
can be noticed that the African countries are witnessing most of these problems and hence are
getting affected. The safety and security of these countries are at stake due to the turmoil. The
present report hence will focus on the regional security issues that Mali is facing. Moreover, it
will also analyze the reasons for cooperation and assistance that the country require from
America and United Nations.
Stability of the Government
It has been noticed that the African countries are witnessing severe trouble due to its
political and military turmoil. It is to be noticed that most of the African countries are generally
referred as democratic in nature. In addition to this, it has been noticed that these countries have
multi party set ups and these countries have voting systems1. However, in the present scenario it
has been noticed that most of these countries are failing to establish the democratic practices due
1 Kabia, John M. Humanitarian intervention and conflict resolution in West Africa: from
ECOMOG to ECOMIL. Routledge, 2016.

3CONFLICT RESOLUTION
to the political and social conflicts. In this context, example of Mali can be given. From the year
2017, it has been noticed that the country is witnessing severe troubles and conflicts2. The
disruptive and violent incidents that were taking place across the country were grabbing the
attention of the international communities along with the United Nations3. The factor that is
aggravating the situation more is the intolerance of the Tuareg community towards the Malian
government. The community is asking for independence from the government. As a result they
are creating trouble within the country4. During the year 2007-2009, the matter has been
aggravated due to the alliance that has been formed between the Tuareg and the Al Qaeda5. This
has resulted into civil conflict within the country. As a result, it has been monitored that the
government is witnessing the need of building efficient and highly aided military forces.
In more recent times it has been noticed that these political and civil conflicts have
resulted into security lapses6. Moreover, the civil wars and political conflicts that have been
continuing for a prolonged time, have also caused break down of civil rules and regulations. It
2 Wallensteen, Peter. Understanding conflict resolution. Sage, 2015.
3 Wallensteen, Peter. Understanding conflict resolution. Sage, 2015.
4 Walther, Olivier J., and Dimitris Christopoulos. "Islamic terrorism and the Malian rebellion." Terrorism and
Political Violence 27, no. 3 (2015): 497-519.
5 Globalsecurity. 2018. Globalsecurity.Org. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/tuareg-mali-
2006.htm.
6 Sensoy, Murat, Achille Fokoue, Jeff Z. Pan, Timothy J. Norman, Yuqing Tang, Nir Oren, and Katia Sycara.
"Reasoning about uncertain information and conflict resolution through trust revision." In Proceedings of the 2013
international conference on Autonomous agents and multi-agent systems, pp. 837-844. International Foundation for
Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, 2013.

4CONFLICT RESOLUTION
has been monitored that apart from the political turmoil, the country is also facing severe issues
due to increasing crime rates and violence.
Military Capability
Mali is a country that has a population of around 18 million people7. Apart from
population, the country is also rich with natural resources and is highly prone to political as well
as civil turmoil. The current situation demands a lot from the Military force; however, Mali lacks
an established military system to meet the highlighted needs. In addition, the workforce is not
also adequately occupied by militaries8. According to the reports, the country has 3 million
military personnel who are fit for service. On the other hand, the number of military forces is on
a constant decline due to the increasing conflicts and terrorist attacks in the country. Moreover,
due to an increasing migration of Malian, the country is left with limited option to fulfill the
supply needs9.
Support from US
As a result of the instability of the law and order, it can be noticed that Mali is failing to
take effective actions to stop civil wars and manage security concerns. Hence, it can be said that
the country is in need of an assistance from external forces in order to tackle the disruptive
situation for a while. The U.S military forces being one of the most effective and efficient forces
7Piccolino, Giulia, and Stephanie Minou. "The EU and regional integration in West Africa: what effects on conflict
resolution and transformation?." (2014).
8 Piccolino, Giulia, and Stephanie Minou. "The EU and regional integration in West Africa: what
effects on conflict resolution and transformation?." (2014).
9 Piccolino, Giulia, and Stephanie Minou. "The EU and regional integration in West Africa: what effects on conflict
resolution and transformation?." (2014).

5CONFLICT RESOLUTION
in the world can help with it10. By doing this, peace and democratic practices can be
implemented within the country. In addition, the country is also in dire need of economic
assistance from the US government11. Establishing regional security is another important issue
that the country needs to address. Hence, this can be said that Mali needs an assistance of the US
military forces in forms such as those mentioned before this line.
Since, the country is rich of natural resources, it has led to severe conflicts and external
attacks. Moreover, an alliance of the Tuareg community with the Al Qaeda group is aggravating
the matter significantly.
Role of United Nations
It is understandable that Mali needs to address the internal turmoil and security issues in
an immediate manner. Hence, this can also be said that the country needs immediate assistance
from the United Nations. The primary concern of the Malian government is to establish peace
and democracy. Hence, an intervention from the United Nations is highly required. In addition to
this, the intervention will also help to re-establish the democracy. Along with it, a reduction in
the number of migration and an improvement in providing proper shelter to the war victims are
10 Chereji, Christian-Radu, and C. Wratto King. "West Africa: A Comparative Study of
Traditional Conflict Resolution Methods in Liberia and Ghana." Conflict Studies Quarterly 5
(2013): 3-18.
11 Briscoe, Ivan. Crime after Jihad: armed groups, the state and illicit business in post-conflict
Mali. Conflict Research Unit, the Clingendael Institute, 2014.

6CONFLICT RESOLUTION
also important12. The United Nations should take up effective peacekeeping programs to support
the Malian government. It is to be noted that peace is getting disrupted from political clashes,
and domestic conflicts.
The UN has identified that the present economic situation of Mali lacks the capability
needed to tackle up the problems of spreading epidemic and diseases. Hence, there are scopes for
the UN to support the country with necessary actions and programs to help them be able to tackle
the problems.
Reasons behind US’s Involvement
In order to stabilize the political and economic situation of the country, Mali needs to
take up immediate and intense actions13. In this regard, the detailed analysis of the present issues
are to be done. It is to be noted that the country needs to address the demand of the Tuareg
community. Moreover, the community is involved in doing a massive disruption of the law and
policy of this country. They have also created alignment with a few terrorist groups as well.
Hence, these all facts just indicate that the different issues that are parts of Mali require an
external assistance such as military and other supports from the UN nations.
12 Charbonneau, Bruno, and Jonathan M. Sears. "Fighting for liberal peace in Mali? The limits of
international military intervention." Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding 8, no. 2-3 (2014):
192-213.
13 Stewart, Dona J. What is next for Mali? The roots of conflict and challenges to stability.
ARMY WAR COLLEGE CARLISLE BARRACKS PA STRATEGIC STUDIES INSTITUTE,
2013.

7CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Another significant problem that the country is facing, is the breakout of diseases and
lack of basic amenities. As a result of the continuous civil wars and disruption of the law and
order, the Mali government is unable to deal efficiently with the problems of diseases14. These
issues also require an external assistance as Mali does not have an appropriate Military, and
economic structure.
Since, the social morale is down with internal turmoil and unrest, it needs an intervention
of the UN nations, so that, living standard can be changed. Any notable assistance from the UN
nations should be highly regarded as the situation is getting worse with passing days and that
there is no better option than to have an external assistance15.
Another important factor that the country needs to address is the failing democracy of the
country. It has been monitored that process of democratic election is being hampered as a result
of the internal turmoil. Hence, the country needs external help to ensure safety and security of
the citizens as well as in order to maintain the democracy of the country16. Hence, an economic
14 Wing, Susanna D. Mali's Precarious Democracy and the Causes of Conflict. Washington, DC:
United States Institute of Peace, 2013.
15 Kimenyi, Mwangi, Jideofor Adibe, Moussa Djiré, and Abigail J. Jirgi. "The impact of conflict
and political instability on agricultural investments in Mali and Nigeria." (2014).
16 Stigall, Dan E. "The French military intervention in Mali, counter-terrorism, and the law of
armed conflict." Mil. L. Rev. 223 (2015): 1.

8CONFLICT RESOLUTION
and social help of external bodies such as the UN nations is required to establish peace and
harmony in Mali.
Role of Local, National and Regional Government
In order to address and resolve the present conflict of the country, it is highly important
to access the role of the local government and the regional politics. It is to be mentioned that the
local and regional political parties are engaging in conflict amongst themselves. As a result, the
law and order is getting severely affected. Moreover, it is to be noticed that the country is in need
of good governance in order to establish multi-party democracy and peace within the country17.
However, the local government is failing to maintain the democracy of the country. It has been
noticed that due to the internal conflict the municipal elections are being delayed extensively.
This is creating severe impact on the presidential election as well.
In addition it has been monitored that the government needs to take actions against
corruption. In this regard, it can be said that the government of Mali has taken up steps to reduce
the corruption. An anti-corruption platform has been established to support the movement of the
government. Moreover, it is also to be mentioned that the country is taking up initiatives in order
to reduce the turmoil and corruption of the country. It has been monitored that by taking up these
initiatives the country is becoming capable of addressing the issues more efficiently.
17 Oluwadare, Abiodun. "The African Union and the conflict in Mali: extra-regional influence
and the limitations of a regional actor." African Journal of Governance and Development 3, no. 1
(2014): 5-20.

9CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that the government of Mali is facing severe problems due to
the rising turmoil and unrest within the country. Political problems as well as the demands for
freedom of the Tuareg community and many small communities are aggravating the matter to a
great extent. In this context the country is facing severe problems regarding the safety and
security issues. Moreover, the problems of corruption and terrorist attacks are heightening the
matter. Hence, it is evident that the country is in need of external assistance in order to address
these issues. Moreover, it is to be mentioned that as a result of prolonged civil disruption and
social unrest the citizens are suffering largely. It has been monitored that they are becoming
victims of the turmoil and are in favor of immigrating. As a result, the Mali is also lacking
sufficient numbers of military who are fit for the service. Hence, military as well as economic
help from both United States and United Nations is required to overcome these problems.

10CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Reference
Briscoe, Ivan. Crime after Jihad: armed groups, the state and illicit business in post-conflict
Mali. Conflict Research Unit, the Clingendael Institute, 2014.
Charbonneau, Bruno, and Jonathan M. Sears. "Fighting for liberal peace in Mali? The limits of
international military intervention." Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding 8, no. 2-3 (2014):
192-213.
Chereji, Christian-Radu, and C. Wratto King. "West Africa: A Comparative Study of Traditional
Conflict Resolution Methods in Liberia and Ghana." Conflict Studies Quarterly 5 (2013): 3-18.
Kabia, John M. Humanitarian intervention and conflict resolution in West Africa: from
ECOMOG to ECOMIL. Routledge, 2016.
Kimenyi, Mwangi, Jideofor Adibe, Moussa Djiré, and Abigail J. Jirgi. "The impact of conflict
and political instability on agricultural investments in Mali and Nigeria." (2014).
Oluwadare, Abiodun. "The African Union and the conflict in Mali: extra-regional influence and
the limitations of a regional actor." African Journal of Governance and Development 3, no. 1
(2014): 5-20.
Piccolino, Giulia, and Stephanie Minou. "The EU and regional integration in West Africa: what
effects on conflict resolution and transformation?." (2014).
Sensoy, Murat, Achille Fokoue, Jeff Z. Pan, Timothy J. Norman, Yuqing Tang, Nir Oren, and
Katia Sycara. "Reasoning about uncertain information and conflict resolution through trust
revision." In Proceedings of the 2013 international conference on Autonomous agents and multi-

11CONFLICT RESOLUTION
agent systems, pp. 837-844. International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent
Systems, 2013.
Stewart, Dona J. What is next for Mali? The roots of conflict and challenges to stability. ARMY
WAR COLLEGE CARLISLE BARRACKS PA STRATEGIC STUDIES INSTITUTE, 2013.
Stigall, Dan E. "The French military intervention in Mali, counter-terrorism, and the law of
armed conflict." Mil. L. Rev. 223 (2015): 1.
Wallensteen, Peter. Understanding conflict resolution. Sage, 2015.
Wing, Susanna D. Mali's Precarious Democracy and the Causes of Conflict. Washington, DC:
United States Institute of Peace, 2013.