The Sahel as a New Theatre of Geopolitical Competition: Russia, China, the United States and Europe in an Emerging Multipolar Order

The Sahel has emerged as an important arena of geopolitical competition as the decline of Western-led security arrangements intersects with military rule, persistent insecurity, sovereigntist politics and the growing influence of non-Western powers. This article examines how competition among Russia, China, the United States and Europe is reshaping security partnerships, external relations and the exercise of sovereignty in the region. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative comparative research design based on documentary analysis and a structured review of recent scholarly literature, policy documents and relevant secondary sources. It compares the interests, instruments and patterns of engagement of the four external actors while examining the responses of Sahelian governments, particularly Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The article introduces the concept of competitive sovereignty brokerage to explain how comparatively weaker states exploit competition among external powers to diversify partnerships, resist political conditionality and increase their diplomatic bargaining space. The analysis finds that the emerging regional order is better understood as competitive pluralisation than as a simple replacement of Western influence by Russia or China. Although multipolarity provides Sahelian governments with greater foreign-policy choice and relational autonomy, diversification does not automatically produce substantive sovereignty. New security, economic and diplomatic partnerships may reproduce external dependence when they fail to strengthen accountable institutions, productive capacity and regional cooperation. The article concludes that the long-term significance of geopolitical competition will depend on whether Sahelian states can convert expanded external choice into durable state capacity, developmental resilience and accountable security governance.