The United States and the Maghreb-Sahel region: securitization, militarization, and terrorism

Abstract

The following work discusses the current securitization process of the Maghreb and Sahel regions, in the light of the macro-securitization engendered by the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), which redefined the global security agenda after 09/11. First, the work presents an introduction to the theory of securitization proposed by the Copenhagen School. Then, it approaches the theoretical concept of macro-securitization, framing it to the scope of the GWOT. It then analyzes the securitization process in the Maghreb-Sahel, assessing its specific dynamics. Next, it further analyzes the immanent contradictions to the current methods employed against terrorism in the regions. Finally, it presents a historical perspective discussing the origins of terrorism in the region – associated with the repression-radicalization dialectics –, which avoids treating the object at issue as an aprioristic category of analysis