The relationship between the G5 Sahel Joint Force and external actors: a discursive interpretation

Drawing and expanding on the literature on discourses and intervention, this article investigates how the relationship between the G5 Sahel Joint Force (G5S-JF) and external actors (the UN, EU and France) came about. To understand the dynamics between the joint force and these external actors, I critically analyse the external actors’ discourse on the security situation in the Sahel and examine how G5 member states have related to this discourse. The relationship has manifested in various ways, including military capacity building and resource distribution, where external actors hold significant influence over the joint force. Although the G5S-JF and the G5 member states exert agency through managing and to some extent controlling their dependency on external actors, such a dynamic has implications for the G5S-JF’s sub-regional ownership and sustainability.