3 - Northern Mali

Summary

This chapter describes shifting coalitions in northern Mali, especially in the critical phase of 2012–2013, when al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) deepened a remarkable set of alliances with local politicians. These “circumstantial jihadists” had a temporary but real effect on the character of the jihadist movement in northern Mali in 2012, positioning the jihadist coalition as a kind of “jihadism lite” that was open to negotiations with regional governments. Even after they left the jihadist camp in 2013 amid France’s military intervention, these elites may have continued to play a role in the trajectory of jihadism in the region, as rumors circulate that they remain in contact with jihadists operating in the shadows. The chapter argues that jihadists built a wide coalition in northern Mali in 2012 by offering political resources to local politicians, but that this coalition was doomed to fracture precisely because it was so diverse.