O QUE PORTUGAL PRETENDE NO SAHEL: SEGURANÇA OU NOTORIEDADE?

Abstract

Since 2012, transnational terrorism in the Sahel has led to an increase in refugee migration to North Africa and Europe, and the danger of radicalisation within these two areas has increased sharply. For the EU, this represents a great danger to regional stability that must be quickly suppressed, and, to this end, the European community has sought to intervene in the region in order to combat extremism and violence. Portugal, which has not been directly affected by this crisis, has been highly engaged in regional initiatives and has sought to ensure that NATO and the UN develop and maintain a plan for resolving the conflict in the Sahel in order to ensure peace in the region. However, without a defined strategic plan for the region and without any direct consequence of this same instability on national territory, the question arises as to what the Portuguese motivations are. In this sense, this research focuses on analysing the reasons for the Portuguese intervention in the Sahel, seeking to understand Portugal's concerns in the region for national, regional, and interregional security, and for its international positioning in order to better understand the motivations behind the acts.