Illicit Trafficking and Instability in Mali: Past, Present and Future

Stretched out along the Sahelian band are some of the poorest and most fragile countries on earth with human security challenges that transcend borders: climate change, regional food crises, rapid population growth, weak governments, endemic corruption, internal conflict and violent extremism.

The Sahel has always been a land of commercial exchanges where communities depend on trade strategies with their closest neighbors for economic development and survival. Economies in the Sahel are quintessentially regional, with strong connections to markets both in sub-Saharan Africa to the south and North Africa to the north. Many populations in the Sahel
rely on mobility as a livelihood strategy, forming the basis of both nomadic and pastoralist communities. Arms, consumer goods, and people flow freely due to weak state structures overlaid by closely connected communities and networks that span the area between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Long and porous borders, low population density, and the challenges of surveillance in this vast space have made the Sahel region vulnerable to organized crime and illicit trafficking.
Land-locked at the heart of this zone of fragility is Mali, with the Sahelian band cutting across the middle of her territory. With an estimated population of 12.7 million, a life expectancy of 51 years, and a ranking on the Human Development Index of 182 out of 186,3 the citizens of the Malian state are some of the most vulnerable in the world. Illicit trafficking has defined the nature of the political crisis in Mali in the immediate past. Yet the nature of how trafficking interacted with local political, social and economic dynamics is poorly understood. A better comprehension of these dynamics is essential to designing an effective response to illicit trafficking and organized crime in the region. This paper relies on interviews with key protagonists and those involved in the illicit economy. Its goal is to review the evolution of illicit trafficking in Mali, from its trading roots to its current form today. In doing so, the study seeks to examine the way in which trafficking has entrenched itself into the Malian ethnography, and to understand the socio-cultural and economic dynamics driving and protecting the trade. In parallel, the paper attempts to understand the way in which the illicit economy has engaged with the political and state-building process, and to anticipate its likely impact in the current peacebuilding framework. Section II provides a brief contextual summary of recent political developments and the research methodology. Sections III and IV consider the
evolution and impact of illicit trafficking in Mali on instability in greater detail. Section V proposes some recommendations on how to better respond to illicit trafficking within the framework of governance and development of Mali.