The Agency for International Development (AID) is participating in a long-term effort to help the peoples of eight Central and West African countries, called the Sahel, protect themselves from the vagaries of nature by providing assistance in the achievement of some measure of economic and social development. Since 1974, AID has provided $374 million, of which $135 million was for food assistance. AID lacks a current regional development strategy identifying what it wants to accomplish in the Sahel and outlining clearly how to achieve its objectives. A better working arrangement between the Sahel development planning team, responsible for overall regional issues, and those field missions responsible for country activities is necessary. The AID delivery rate is slow and improvements in project management are needed. The AID design system also requires substantial improvement. AID needs to make a greater effort to link food assistance to the long-term development of the Sahel to achieve dual humanitarian and development objectives.

The Agency for International Development (AID) is participating in a long-term effort to help the peoples of eight Central and West African countries, called the Sahel, protect themselves from the vagaries of nature by providing assistance in the achievement of some measure of economic and social development. Since 1974, AID has provided $374 million, of which $135 million was for food assistance. AID lacks a current regional development strategy identifying what it wants to accomplish in the Sahel and outlining clearly how to achieve its objectives. A better working arrangement between the Sahel development planning team, responsible for overall regional issues, and those field missions responsible for country activities is necessary. The AID delivery rate is slow and improvements in project management are needed. The AID design system also requires substantial improvement. AID needs to make a greater effort to link food assistance to the long-term development of the Sahel to achieve dual humanitarian and development objectives.

The Sahel is an arid region spanning the width of Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Traditionally, the Sahel has been home to pastoralist groups that roamed its vast expanses in search of grazing land and water for their herds. However, a multitude of factors is rapidly changing conditions in the Sahel resulting in growing instability with the potential to affect security in other parts of the globe. Climate change, ethnic tensions, crushing poverty, and extremist organizations rank among the most pressing issues facing the Sahel. These challenges can interact and exacerbate each other in unpredictable ways. Recent examples include the 2012 military led coup in Mali, and the increasingly violent campaign waged by Boko Haram in Nigeria and surrounding countries. Civil affairs forces support the US Africa Command's (AFRICOM) objectives of deterring and defeating transnational threats, protecting US security interests, preventing future conflicts, and supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. This thesis examines how civil affairs forces can build partner capacity in the Sahel that is relevant to AFRICOM's strategic objectives, and how to measure progress that supports the command's objectives. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION * CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW * Introduction * Doctrine * Civil Affairs Case Studies * Internal Defense and Development * Military-Civil Society Links * Conclusion * CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY * Introduction * Limitations and Delimitations * Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Methodology * Data Collection and Analysis * Survey Questions * Conclusion * CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS * Introduction * Methodology for CA Engagement in the Sahel * Define the Problem * Outreach to Partners * Develop Evaluation Measures * Connect People and Institutions * Replicate Success * Ensure Sustainability * Core Phenomenon: Lack of Indigenous CA Capabilities * A Theory on Building Relevant Partner Capacity * Causes of the Core Phenomenon * Strategies * Intervening Conditions * Potential Consequences * Conclusion * CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS * Major Themes and Results of the Analysis * Recommendations * Suggestions for Additional research * Summary and Conclusions * APPENDIX A SURVEY RESULTS: ASSESSING CA RELEVANCE * BIBLIOGRAPHY

The crisis in the Sahel is serious and multidimensional, and if it continues unabated it could have consequences far beyond the region. As the states of the region are too poor and weak to deal with this on their own, international support is needed. the current international emphasis on the G5 Sahel should change from a focus on more 'boots on the ground' to support for the development agenda of this embryonic international organisation. The Sahel needs a functioning regional framework and the G5 Sahel has some potential; but the only way to harvest this potential is to help fine-tune it to address the underlying causes of conflict. Improving security conditions in the Sahel is absolutely essential; but neither the inhabitants of the region nor the external stakeholders will find security exclusively through military means. The correct priorities must be set. And at the heart of this there must be an improvement in living conditions and a new system of governance that makes it much less possible for jihadist insurgents to appropriate local land-rights conflicts.