American presence in Africa : military intervention in Somalia and the Sahel

Abstract

The protraction of war and conflict in the African continent is one of the common themes in the contemporary international system. Ever since the end of the Cold War, military interventions can be argued to have been an important factor in the foreign policies of various states. The aim of this dissertation is to look at the repercussions of military interventions on the politics and decision-making capabilities of the target states. The literature shows that there is a problematic gap when it comes to literature analysing the effects of military interventions, and that existing literature is limited in the discussion of this topic. Understanding of these effects is crucial as they could very well determine the ways in which states approach future military interventions. This dissertation looks towards the existing literature on the causes of military interventions, and their outcomes, whilst taking into account the two case studies of American intervention in Somalia and the Sabel in order to better understand the possible political effects of such interventions. This comparative analysis allows for the discussion of two cases which involve military interventions conducted for different reasons, namely humanitarian assistance and counterterrorism intentions respectively. The analysis shows that the results of military interventions are in part determined by the motivations behind the military intervention itself, whilst also showing that certain factors such as an understanding of the target states, the insistence of using military means to fight terrorism, and domestic factors contributing to instability. The ultimate result is that whilst in some cases, the USA did have positive effects on the target states, the two case studies show that there are many negative political effects, such as the weakening of central governance in Somalia, the proliferation of instability in the Sahel and a general failure to learn from past mistakes.