Foreign aid and military interventions have been important determinants in Mali’s domestic politics for decades. Focusing on the European Union (EU) as an external actor in Mali, this study investigates the relationship between the EU’s political discourse and aid policy in this country. I looked at the amount of European humanitarian and military aid sent to Mali between 2010 and 2014. I also looked at the framings of Mali in the European Parliament’s (EP) debates within the same time frame. In this way, this study investigates whether there is a connection between the framings of Mali in the EP debates and the types and amount of European aid sent to Mali. Frame analysis is used as a method to examine the speeches in the EP debates. The changes in aid and the analysis of the speeches show us a connection between the framings of Mali in the EP and the EU’s aid policy in Mali.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Historical Background of the Conflict in Mali
2.1. Independence from France and National State Building (1960-1990)
2.2. Armed Tuareg Rebellion and Peace Accords (1990-1996)
2.3. First Democratic Transition of Power in Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré’s “Consensus” Model and the 2012 Crisis (2002-2012)
2.4. International (Military) Involvement in Mali (the 2012 coup and its aftermath)
3. Aim and Research Question
4. Literature Review
4.1. Influence of Foreign Aid in Mali
4.2. Causes of the Conflict as Proposed by the Literature
4.3. International Framing of the Conflict in Mali
4.4. French and EU Military Involvement in Mali
5. Methodology and Theory
5.1. Frames and Frame Analysis
5.2. Scope of the Study
5.3. Securitization Theory
6. Changes in the Volume and Types of ECHO Aid and European Military Spending in Mali After 2012 Crisis
6.1. Amount and Types of ECHO Grants between 2010-2014
6.2. The EUTM Mali Mission: Its Scope and Budget (2013-2014)
6.3. African Peace Facility and its Financial Contributions to AFISMA
6.4. Comparing Figures
7. Securitization of Mali’s Conflict in the European Parliament’s Debates
7.1. Framings of Mali in Debates between 2010-2011
7.2. Framings of Mali in Debates after the Coup D’état in March 2012 - Until the end of 2014
8. Discussion
9. Limitations
10. Conclusion
11. Bibliography
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis examines the nexus between European Union aid policies and the political discourse regarding the conflict in Mali between 2010 and 2014, specifically investigating whether the securitization of the conflict in the European Parliament correlates with shifts in aid allocation and types.
- Analysis of European humanitarian and military aid flows to Mali.
- Application of securitization theory to political discourse within the European Parliament.
- Evaluation of how political framing influences aid policy and intervention strategies.
- Investigation of the transition from development-focused aid to security-sector involvement.
Excerpt from the Book
Securitization Theory
Framing and its effects are not restricted to our personal lives and direct social interactions. Securitization is one of the areas that framing is being used effectively. One of the most prominent scholars in this subject, Ole Wæver, coined the term “securitization” (Watson 2012). To understand the idea of securitization, we first look at what “security” means in this context. According to Wæver, the word security gains its meaning through social construction. It becomes anything that we say it is, in other words it is a “speech act”. By just mentioning “security”, we already do something and we turn a topic into a matter of security (Taureck 2006; Wæver 1995).
Wæver argues that securitization is a process of bringing some topic under the realm of security and talking about it as a security problem rather than something else (Buzan, Wæver, and de Wilde 1998). How does the securitization process work? First of all, there needs to be a “referent object” which is constructed as being under existential threat and that object has to have a vital importance for the society. Then there is the “securitizing actor”, which is usually the state or elite groups, that are in a powerful position to make things fall under the category of “security issues” (Buzan, Wæver, and de Wilde 1998).
Securitizing actors label the threats against the referent objects as enormous, urgent, and as only being eliminated through extraordinary ways. Securitization gives the securitizing actor the legitimization in the eyes of the society to take extensive measures which would normally seem unacceptable and extreme, such as bombardment and killing people. This is possible because while labeling the threat, securitizing actor uses convincing arguments such as “everything depends on this solution, otherwise we may lose everything including our lives”. In this way an issue becomes a matter of life or death, which seems to make all kinds of solutions permissible (Buzan, Wæver, and de Wilde 1998; Stritzel 2007; Wæver 1995).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the historical context of political instability in Mali and presents the research focus on the relationship between Western foreign aid and security discourse.
2. Historical Background of the Conflict in Mali: Provides an overview of Mali’s post-independence history, focusing on state-building, Tuareg rebellions, and the 2012 crisis.
3. Aim and Research Question: Defines the core objective of determining how shifts in EU aid policy correlate with changes in the framing of the Malian conflict within the European Parliament.
4. Literature Review: Surveys existing research on foreign aid, the root causes of the Malian conflict, and international military interventions.
5. Methodology and Theory: Details the application of frame analysis and securitization theory as the primary analytical framework for this study.
6. Changes in the Volume and Types of ECHO Aid and European Military Spending in Mali After 2012 Crisis: Tracks the quantitative increase and shift in EU funding from purely humanitarian assistance to security-related support.
7. Securitization of Mali’s Conflict in the European Parliament’s Debates: Examines parliamentary speeches to illustrate how framing shifted from democratization praise to a security-based discourse.
8. Discussion: Synthesizes the findings to demonstrate a clear link between securitized political discourse and the transformation of EU aid policies toward a military-security focus.
9. Limitations: Acknowledges constraints such as language barriers for non-English sources and gaps in detailed budget data.
10. Conclusion: Summarizes the research, concluding that securitizing frames functioned as a catalyst for legitimizing increased military and security-oriented EU aid in Mali.
Keywords
Mali, foreign aid, military intervention, securitization, framing, European Parliament, conflict, EU-Sahel policy, humanitarian aid, political discourse, jihadism, counter-insurgency, regional stability, crisis management, post-independence history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this thesis?
This thesis examines how the European Union's political discourse and its foreign aid policies toward Mali changed in response to the 2012 crisis, specifically exploring the potential connection between these two areas.
What are the central themes of the research?
The central themes include the impact of foreign aid on domestic politics, the role of securitization in EU foreign policy, the evolution of conflict framing, and the shift from humanitarian to military-security involvement.
What is the primary research question?
The research asks what the relationship is between the change in the type and volume of EU aid to Mali after 2012 and the change in the framing of the conflict in Mali within the European Parliamentary debates.
Which methodology is employed in this study?
The study utilizes a qualitative frame analysis of speeches in the European Parliament, combined with a quantitative analysis of secondary data regarding EU humanitarian and military spending in Mali.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The body chapters cover the historical context of Mali, the literature on foreign aid in conflict zones, the detailed financial shift in ECHO aid and military spending, and a critical analysis of parliamentary debates from 2010 to 2014.
Which keywords define this work?
The work is defined by terms such as Mali, foreign aid, military intervention, securitization, framing, and EU-Sahel policy.
How did the European Parliament’s framing of Mali change over the studied period?
Initially, Mali was framed as a model democracy in Africa; however, after the 2012 coup, the discourse shifted significantly, portraying the country as a dangerous zone and a haven for global jihadism requiring security-based intervention.
What role does the securitization theory play in this research?
Securitization theory is used to explain how European politicians utilized "speech acts" to label the conflict in Mali as an urgent security threat, thereby legitimizing the shift from development aid to increased military and training support.
Does the author conclude that there is a causal link between discourse and aid policy?
The author identifies a clear relationship and shows that they occur together, though they note that a direct causal link cannot be definitively proven, but emphasizes that securitized framing is instrumental in legitimizing the interventionist policy.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Gülşah Gürsoy (Autor:in), 2020, European Aid and the Securitization of the Conflict in Mali, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1010458
