While cocaine flows through West Africa may have declined, the structures that facilitated trafficking are still in place.

The Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has not demonstrated that reunifying the divided country is a top priority of his administration.

In post-conflict Mali individuals with an increased sense of security are exploring new opportunities to venture into economic activity.

This international dimension to the conflict in northern Mali is complex, fluid and often unclear, but remains essential to understanding the state of play in the contemporary Sahara-Sahel region.