18 November 2026
09:00 - 10:30 Europe/Oslo
CONTROVERSIAL INTERVENTIONS: Soldiers from the French Army in Sahel monitor a rural area during the Bourgou IV operation in northern Burkina Faso, along the border with Mali and Niger in 2019. Burkina Faso's army announced in 2023 that operations by the French army in the jihadist-hit West African state were officially over.
Event
Breakfast seminar: Stabilising the Sahel – What is the role and responsibility of Norway and Europe?
Join us for this event, where two authors and experts on security in the Sahel reflect on challenges and lessons for the region, its neighbours, Europe and the wider world.
Language:
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Seminar
The Sahel is the borderland of 3 million square kilometres between the Sahara Desert and the African savannah. This vast area is characterized by insurgencies, migration and smuggling, lack of jobs and the absence of state power. The Sahelian states face growing popular discontent, complicated by both climate change and military intervention by France and other powers.
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Over the last decade, the Sahel has become a focal point of international security interventions, with external actors providing extensive security force assistance (SFA) to local military, police, and paramilitary forces. Yet, recent developments have created deep rifts between the Sahelian states and their security partners, leading many observers to question the effectiveness of international security interventions.
In this seminar, we will hear from two authors and experts on security in the Sahel:
Nina Wilén is Director of the Africa Programme at The Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations and Associate Professor, Lund University. She is the author of Securitizing the Sahel: Analysing External Interventions and their Consequences (2025).
Morten Bøås is a research professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), specialising in Africa and the Sahel. He is the author of Sahel. The Perfect Storm (2025).
They will discuss security dynamics and international intervention in the Sahel, how security force assistance has shaped local security dynamics and broader geopolitical competition, and reflect on challenges and lessons for the Sahel, its neighbours, Europe and the wider world.
The seminar will be chaired by Jenny Lorentzen, Senior Researcher at NUPI.
Please note that this seminar will be streamed, and that it takes place at NUPI’s premises in Rosenkrantz’ gate 22, Oslo (4th floor). There is no need to sign up if you will follow us on YouTube.
The programme starts at 9 AM. A light breakfast and coffee/tea is served from 08.30 AM. The seminar ends at 10:30 AM.
The event is organised as part of the Peace and Stability Operations Programme (PSOP) at NUPI.
Speakers
Nina Wilén
Director of the Africa Programme at The Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations and Associate Professor, Lund University.
Morten Bøås
Research Professor
Related projects
Research Project
2023 - 2026 (Ongoing)
Support to UN Peace Operations: Ensuring More Effective UN Peace Operations (UNPO)
The aim of the UNPO-project is to strengthen the ability of UN peacekeeping and other peace operations to respond to global security challenges, adapt to a changing global order, and c...
18 November 2026
09:00 - 10:30 Europe/Oslo
Language:
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Seminar