Franco-British Defence Cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea: Between the Barracks and the Bureau

Franco-British cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea is a structural necessity as jihadist violence spreads southward from the Sahel. France offers military capacity but lacks civilian follow-through; the United Kingdom has governance expertise but lacks a reliable security partner. In this prize-winning paper, Alexander Minford proposes a small Franco-British coordination cell in Benin, modelled on an existing maritime unit, with dual reporting lines. The cell would enable shared threat assessments, joint engagement with regional governments, and a channel for the UK to shape EU programming in West Africa.