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Two years ago, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger made a historic break from ECOWAS, charting a new course under the banner of the Sahel Alliance. Since then, West Africa and the Sahel have been quietly but profoundly reshaping their geopolitical and security landscapes. What began as a political rupture has evolved into a test of how regional cooperation and development can be reimagined.
At the same time, Morocco has been pursuing its ambitious project: the Royal Atlantic Initiative. By connecting Africa’s Atlantic coastlines, Rabat seeks to stitch together a corridor once marked by fragmentation, offering a shared platform for trade, energy transition, and strategic influence. For the landlocked countries of the Sahel, this corridor represents more than access to the ocean, it is a potential lifeline to global markets and a chance to ease the structural constraints of enclavement. Simultaneously, Morocco is reinforcing its maritime economy, positioning its ports, logistics, and coastal infrastructure as central hubs in this emerging Atlantic African network. This dual movement, the Sahel’s search for sovereignty and Morocco’s drive for integration, captures a defining moment in Atlantic Africa’s unfolding narrative.
But the picture is not without shadows, and these opportunities exist alongside persistent security issues. Armed groups in the Sahel have turned drone warfare from theory into practice, pushing the boundaries of asymmetric conflict. Cartel networks stretch across borders, disrupting communities and international partners alike. And structural realities, most notably the persistence of enclavement continue to shape economic destinies and limit connectivity.
In this edition, we invite you to see the Sahel and Atlantic Africa, not as separate stories, but as interconnected arenas where security, trade, and regional cooperation intersect. Beyond immediate challenges, these dynamics reveal a deeper reality: the region’s future hinges on how landlocked Sahelian states access opportunities, how Morocco advances its Atlantic vision, and how communities, governments, and partners navigate the delicate balance between fragility, the pursuit of stability, and resilience to threats. Grasping this interplay is essential not only for policymaking but for the long-term stability and growth of the region.
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(FR) ECOWAS – Alliance of Sahel States (AES): A New Geopolitical Reconfiguration in West Africa?
Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi, Larabi Jaïdi
Nearly two years after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger left ECOWAS to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), West Africa is navigating new dynamics. The split exposes ECOWAS’s limits and tests the AES’s ability to forge collective security and development strategies. This paper explores the stakes, risks, and dilemmas of a region redefining governance amid accelerating global change... Read more
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(FR) The Sahel: A Region of Multiple Enclaves
Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi, Larabi Jaïdi
This paper explores spatial enclavement in the Sahel, focusing on landlocked countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Chad. It examines external (port access), internal (regional disparities), and inter-regional (cross-border) enclavement, highlighting geographic, economic, political, and human factors. The study proposes sustainable de-enclavement strategies, including infrastructure, corridors, and integrated planning, emphasizing both supranational coordination and local action... Read more
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Drone Warfare and Cartel Convergence in West Africa
Rida Lyammouri, Niccola Milnes
The fusion of drone warfare and cartel networks in the Sahel is creating new threats to U.S. security and prosperity. Rapid advances by groups like JNIM, coupled with the region’s trafficking networks, spread tactics, weapons, and influence far beyond Africa affecting borders, supply chains, and strategic deals. This paper examines why early U.S. engagement, from counter-drone measures to maritime and financial oversight, is critical to containing these risks at their source... Read more
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Countering JNIM’s Drone Proliferation in the Sahel
Rida Lyammouri, Niccola Milnes
Since its first strike in 2023, JNIM has carried out over a dozen coordinated drone attacks across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Togo making it one of the few groups worldwide to conduct sustained drone warfare. Using commercial drones and AI for lethal strikes, ISR, and propaganda, JNIM mimics state airpower. Its rapid expansion and low-cost technology signal an urgent need for innovative countermeasures, as the Sahel emerges as a new global terrorism hotspot... Read more
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(FR) Morocco in Atlantic Africa: Shared Interests, Overcoming Paradoxes
Abdelhak Bassou
Launched in 2023 by King Mohammed VI, the Atlantic African States Process (PEAA) aims to turn Africa’s fragmented Atlantic coast into a connected, prosperous region. Despite differences among its 23 member states, the initiative leverages shared opportunities, maritime trade, energy transition, and resource management, while confronting common threats like transnational crime and violent extremism. With Morocco’s diplomatic clout and strategic position, the PEAA could make Atlantic Africa a new hub of stability and influence, if it can turn ambition into action... Read more
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The African Peace & Security Architecture in the Face of Emerging Threats
This episode examines the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) amid evolving threats, questioning its effectiveness against modern crises such as terrorism, environmental stress, disinformation, and cyber risks. It highlights institutional and political gaps, exploring the challenges of enforcement, coordination, and regional-continental integration...Watch
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(FR) Integration or Disintegration? The Future of African Regional Blocs
This episode examines the future of African regional blocs, caught between the ideal of integration and a reality marked by fragmentation. From the weakening of ECOWAS to the emergence of the Sahel States Alliance, and the growing influence of external actors, it highlights the tensions and realignments at play. Featuring insights from M. Hélio Sanches, the episode explores the challenges and prospects shaping the African regional order today...Watch
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(AR) Morocco, Maritime Trade and the Blue Economy
In this PCNS Tuesday Talk, we highlight Morocco’s strategic position as a bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and its growing role in international trade and the maritime economy. We discuss the challenges and opportunities these dynamics present, from developing infrastructure and building skills to advancing the blue economy and ensuring the sustainability of marine resources...Watch
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The African Atlantic Gas Pipeline
The African Atlantic Gas Pipeline will transform energy access across West Africa and link the continent to Europe. Stretching over 5,700 km, it will deliver 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year across Africa and 18 billion to Europe, providing electricity for over 400 million people. Launched in 2016 with a budget of $20–25 billion, this ambitious project is more than infrastructure, it’s a lifeline for development, industry, and regional energy security...Watch
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(FR) Atlantic Africa: Towards an Integrated African Vision of the Atlantic Space
On September 30, 2025, in Assilah, during the 46th International Cultural Moussem, the Policy Center for the New South will host a side-event on “Atlantic Africa: Towards an Integrated African Vision of the Atlantic Space.” The panel will examine the Atlantic’s emerging role as a crossroads of security, energy, and geopolitics, highlighting Morocco’s Atlantic African States Process and the conditions needed for Africa to forge a collective voice and advance South-South cooperation ...More Information
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