Foreign Military Bases and Strategic Influence in West Africa: Interrogating Politics of Sovereignty and Regional Security

Abstract

This paper mainly focuses on foreign military bases and strategic influence in Africa; ECOWAS, France, and the Politics of Sovereignty and Regional Security in West Africa. The statement of the problem is from the increasing concern that the foreign military presence with special regards to French military intervention in Sahel has increasingly garnered debates on neo-colonial influence whilst undermining sovereignty and the legitimacy of regional security institutions like ECOWAS. Specifically, the study will aim to explore the role of foreign military bases in regional security governance, whilst examining the nexus between ECOWAS and France in the enforcement of democratic norms, and evaluate the consequences of foreign military presence for African sovereignty, taking Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso as case studies. Qualitative research design is adopted in the study. The research population is made up of documented materials on foreign military intervention, ECOWAS security operations and regional political events in West Africa. Secondary data was used and acquired from journal articles, books, policy studies, ECOWAS communiqués, government publications and trusted media sources. The methodology used was the documentary analysis for data collecting and thematic and descriptive methodologies for data analysis coupled with interviews from professional who are relevant to the study. The time scope period is from 2020 to 2025. Results show that foreign military sites in West Africa are more than just security cooperation, but also tools of geopolitical and strategic influence. The study also demonstrates that the reactions of ECOWAS to political crises are seen as consistent with French strategic goals, therefore eroding popular confidence in the impartiality of the organization. African sovereignty remains compromised by dependence on external military players and regional security governance remains problematic, the study concludes. It so advises stronger security partnership structures led by Africans themselves, institutional independence for ECOWAS, better coordination of the regional military effort and a reduction in the reliance on outside military powers to address the security concerns in West Africa.