Since the end of the Cold War, there have been conflicts affecting every region of Africa. In response, Western powers such as France initially moved away from unilateral action towards multilateral missions under EU, UN and/ or African Union (AU) auspices. While this evolution brought in many more actors and was consistent with the mantra of ‘African solutions to African problems’, the limitations of these modes of intervention soon became clear as international organisations failed to cope with the scale of the challenge (intra-state and ethnic conflict, rising populations and terrorism). Ultimately, these formalised coalitions with their rigid rule-bound approaches lacked the necessary flexibility, resources, and purpose. Over the last decade, therefore, leading Northern powers such as France have favoured ad hoc modes of intervening involving coalitions of the willing. But how should we understand the concept of ‘coalitions’? How are they formed and obstructed?
This paper presents the pre-field research findings of a Leverhulme-funded project into coalition-building that will home in on the cases of Mali, CAR, G5-S and Somalia. These cases are a manifestation of France’s new hybrid forms of coalition-building, which derive much of its legitimacy, resources, and manpower from a range of regional, state and non-state sources.
This paper explores different interpretations of the term coalition, as a structured group of physical actors; a forum of negotiation; a ‘cluster’ of norms. Each definition has different implications for the cohesiveness, sustainability and effectiveness of coalitions. Next, it outlines the processes by which coalitions are mobilised or re-mobilised, with a focus on the role of lead nations (France, Germany, UK), intra-EU bargaining and operational issues. It then identifies key challenges: budgetary constraints, competing norms, free-riding. Finally, it illustrates the workings of coalition-building in Mali. It concludes by assessing the potential of this form of ‘clustering’ for understanding future interventions in Africa.