This book deals with the relation between the Malian state and the Tuareg people in the late 20th century, which has been characterized by three violent uprisings against Malian authority by Tuareg nationalists: between 1963 and 1964, between 1990 and 1996, and again between 2006 and 2009. In presenting a detailed history of this conflict between an African state and a people inhabiting it involuntarily, a number of social and political tensions are brought to the fore which haunt all of the Sahel today: the heritage of slavery, local and European concepts of race and the racialisation of social and political relations, colonial rule, the inchoate process of decolonisation, and the presence of competing nationalist forces in one postcolonial state.

Wars fought for political separation have become omnipresent in post-colonial Africa. From the division of Sudan, to the continued fragmentation of Somalia, and the protracted struggles of Cabinda and Azawad, conflict over seccession and separation continues to the present day. This is the first single volume to examine the historical arc of secession and secessionist conflict across sub-Saharan Africa. Paying particular attention to the development of secessionist conflicts and their evolving goals, Secession and Separatist Conflicts in Postcolonial Africa draws on case studies and rigorous research to examine three waves of secessionist movements, themselves defined by international conflict and change. Using detailed case studies, the authors offer a framework to understand how secession and separation occur, how these are influenced by both preceding movements and global political trends, and how their ongoing legacies continue to shape African regional politics. Deeply engaging and thoroughly researched, this book presents a nuanced and important and important new overview of African separatist and secessionist conflicts. It addresses the structures, goals, and underlying influences of these movements within a broader global context to impart a rich understanding of why these conflicts are waged, and how they succeed or fail.

As this book goes to print, the BBC is reporting an attack on a luxury tourist resort in Mali by Tuareg and Islamists militants. A very short while back, in 2012, in fact, the rebellion in the North came within a whisker of seizing Mali. If it had not been for the timely armed intervention of France, Mali might have become the first state to fall totally into the hands of elements the West and African governments are still battling in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Niger, Nigeria and Somalia and who unleash terror on Europe on an almost daily basis. The story of ancient Mali, once one of the greatest empires Africa has ever seen, colonized by the French and now an independent African state, and its never-ending clashes with the Tuareg people in the North of the country, is as gripping and as dramatic today as then. What is really happening? Who are the Tuareg? What makes them so different? Are they really the descendants of the Almoravids, who conquered Spain and left the stunning beauties of the Alhambra and Granada as testimonies of their greatness? Unique, with their own proud and romantic culture, dominating all they come in contact with, the Tuareg refuse to be ruled. In The Tuaregs and the 2012 Rebellion in Mali, Ibrahim Yusuf Gamawa compellingly tells a story that is not yet ended. But he brings it up to date and future waits in the wings to unfold the next no doubt tragic but compelling chapters. It is an ancient story, as contemporary as tomorrows headlines.

As the so-called Arab Spring has slid into political uncertainty, lingering insecurity and civil conflict, European and American initial enthusiasm for anti-authoritarian protests has given way to growing concerns that revolutionary turmoil in North Africa may in fact have exposed the West to new risks. Critical in cementing this conviction has been the realisation that developments originated from Arab Mediterranean countries and spread to the Sahel have now such a potential to affect Western security and interests as to warrant even military intervention, as France’s operation in Mali attests. EU and US involvement in fighting piracy off the Horn of Africa had already laid bare the nexus between their security interests and protracted crises in sub-Saharan Africa. But the new centrality acquired by the Sahel after the Arab uprisings – particularly after Libya’s civil war – has elevated this nexus to a new, larger dimension. The centre of gravity of Europe’s security may be swinging to Africa, encompassing a wide portion of the continental landmass extending south of Mediterranean coastal states. The recrudescence of the terrorist threat from Mali to Algeria might pave the way to an American pivot to Africa, thus requiring fresh thinking on how the European Union and the United States can better collaborate with each other and with relevant regional actors.

Through the study of MNLA's use of social media by analyzing pro-MNLA Facebook posts and interviews with key architects of the MNLA's media strategy, the book explores MNLA's role in the Malian civil war from 2012 to 2015.

This collection examines the Sahara holistically from the earliest (prehistoric) times through the ‘historical’ period to the present and with political direction into the future. The contributions cover palaeoclimatology, history, archaeology (cultural heritage), social anthropology, sociology, politics and international affairs. Structured chronologically, the volume can almost be read as a narrative of the Sahara from the earliest times to the present, i.e. from the past climates of the Sahara in prehistoric times to the current ‘war on terror’ and its implications for the peoples of the Sahara. Importantly, the collection shows how the region must be approached ‘holistically’, highlighting the importance of each of these subject areas (palaeo-climates, history, politics, etc.) in relation to each other. Indeed, the first contribution is a remarkable (and unique) paper, bringing together the work of some 8-9 internationally recognised scientists to tell the story and show the relevance to the present day of the Sahara’s past climates etc. Nearly all the contributions stand in their own right at the cutting edge of research in their respective fields (e.g. archaeology, history, politics, etc.). This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of North African Studies.