Siglo XXI… ¿y el Sahel yendo hacia la Edad Media?

Abstract

The fall of the Western Roman Empire opened a period of history known as the Middle Ages, in which, although not everything was shadows during the thousand years that it covers, the loss of the (relative) monopoly of violence of the previous stage allowed the emergence of a multitude of actors capable of exercising it; and since each one had its own purpose, its own reasons and interests to use it, the result was an era of permanent conflict. On the other hand, the loss of that unique space and its atomization, both physical and conceptual, also led to territorial fragmentation, and to the consequent appearance of a multiplicity of fiefdoms where the "lord" exercised an absolute right over the population of the same, given the difficulty of its inhabitants to be able to guarantee their safety and their own subsistence in another way. A brief analogy on these aspects made between the Middle Ages and that key space for Africa -and for Europe- such as the Sahel, in this complex 21st century, together with a final reflection on the lessons of history and geopolitics, make up this document.