Le Mali au lendemain de l’opération militaire française : Nouvelles opportunités ou retour à la case départ?

The report analyzes the shift in power dynamics in Mali after the 2013 French military intervention. It notes that while the intervention strengthened the authority of the interim presidency and marginalized the 2012 coup leaders, deep-seated governance issues and tensions between the state and armed groups in the north remain. The author argues that military success must be followed by inclusive national reconciliation and a credible electoral process to avoid a return to previous systemic failures.

• The French military operation Serval and the deployment of MISMA shifted the political balance in Bamako, increasing the authority of interim President Dioncounda Traoré and reducing the influence of the 2012 coup leaders based at the Kati military camp.
• The attack on Konna by armed groups demonstrated the fluidity and collaboration between different northern factions, including Ansar Dine, AQMI, and MUJAO, undermining previous mediation efforts to isolate Ansar Dine from terrorist entities.
• There is a significant gap between international and domestic perceptions of the MNLA; while some international partners encourage dialogue with the group, much of the Malian public views the MNLA as non-representative and complicit in the takeover of the north by terrorist groups.
• The transition to a United Nations operation to replace MISMA faces skepticism in Mali due to concerns over the effectiveness of traditional peacekeeping in a volatile environment and the lack of a clear peace agreement to maintain.
• The proposed electoral calendar for July 2013 is considered tight, requiring urgent efforts to establish a secure electoral roll and facilitate voting for refugees and internally displaced persons to ensure the process is credible.
• Long-term stability requires deep governance reforms and a move away from the 'electoral democracy' model praised by international partners, which failed to address systemic corruption and predation.

APA

Théroux-Bénoni, L.-A. (2013). Le Mali au lendemain de l’opération militaire française : Nouvelles opportunités ou retour à la case départ? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SitRep2013_25Feb.pdf

Chicago

Théroux-Bénoni, Lori-Anne. Le Mali au lendemain de l’opération militaire française : Nouvelles opportunités ou retour à la case départ? Institute for Security Studies, 2013. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SitRep2013_25Feb.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Théroux-Bénoni |first1=Lori-Anne |title=Le Mali au lendemain de l’opération militaire française : Nouvelles opportunités ou retour à la case départ? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=25 February 2013 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SitRep2013_25Feb.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{throuxbnoni2013mali, author = {Théroux-Bénoni, Lori-Anne}, title = {{Le Mali au lendemain de l’opération militaire française : Nouvelles opportunités ou retour à la case départ?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2013}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SitRep2013_25Feb.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }