Geopolitical situation of the Central West Africa and Sahel area: researchers Luca Raineri and Lorenzo Gasbarri at the seminar “Operations Horizon Scanning,” in Florence, at[...]

Geopolitical situation of the Central-West Africa and Sahel area: researchers Luca Raineri and Lorenzo Gasbarri at the seminar "Operations Horizon Scanning," in Florence, at the barracks headquarters of NATO's Multinational Division - South (MND - S

At the "Predieri" barracks in Florence, the headquarters of NATO's Multinational Division - South (MND - S), the "Operations Horizon Scanning" seminar was held, with a series of in-depth discussions on Multi Domain Operations and the geopolitical situation in the Central West Africa / Sahel area featuring two researchers from the Dirpolis Institute (Law, Politics, Development) of the Sant'Anna School: Luca Raineriand Lorenzo Gasbarri.
The first of the two days of proceedings was divided into three panels, in which the topics of Multi Domain Operations (MDO), Cyberspace Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA), and Cyber Warfare were covered by personnel from the 3rd Department of the Army General Staff and the Interforce Intelligence Center. In each, special emphasis was placed on how integration between Domains is essential to achieve effects and benefits in favor of the Land component.

The second day, on the other hand, focused on the analysis of political, economic and social aspects of the countries of Central West Africa, the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea. The speakers were the Ambassador for Italy to Cameroon, Filippo Scamacca del Murgo, and three among professors and researchers from theUniversity for Foreigners of Perugia and the Sant'Anna School.

The speakers gave a detailed overview of the complicated geopolitical situation of the Central West African states and their relations within the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS).

Luca Raineri, researcher in International Relations at the Sant'Anna School, dealt in more detail with the Sahel area, i.e., that strip of territory in sub-Saharan Africa that divides the north of the continent from the Gulf of Guinea, which is characterized by great social and political instability of which migratory flows toward Europe are one of the consequences. Joining us to explore these issues in more detail was Lorenzo Gasbarri, a researcher in International Law at the Sant'Anna School.

MND - S signed, in 2022, a memorandum of understanding with the University for Foreigners of Perugia and the Sant'Anna School. The agreement stems from the operational need to merge civilian and military components to deepen the knowledge of certain crisis areas, the understanding of which requires an integrated approach, which cannot be exhausted in the analysis of the military dimension alone.

As stated at the Vilnius Summit (July 2023) and the Washington Summit (July 2024), "NATO needs to look carefully at its southern flank and exercise its deterrence even beyond the borders of the Area of Responsibility, where a range of political, social and environmental phenomena create a breeding ground for armed groups, terrorist organizations and for destabilizing and coercive interference by strategic competitors, leading to a threat to the stability of the Alliance."

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