Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-9-2026
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Wesley Yates
Second Advisor
Kenneth Negy
Relational Format
Dissertation/ Thesis
Abstract
This thesis examines the counterterrorism strategies employed by the United States and France in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Somalia, the United States utilized a remote warfare centric strategy, precision drone strikes and limited special operations raids, in an attempt to degrade the Somali groups al-Shabaab and ISIS-Somalia. In the broader Sahel, France utilized large ground operations in Operation Serval and Operation Barkhane fighting various groups such as AQIM and JNIM. The thesis aims to explore why the United States and France, both Western countries, who fought similar non-state actors decided to employ drastically different strategies. Through process tracing and comparative analysis, this thesis argues that these strategies were shaped by inherited traditions. More specifically, it contends that colonial legacies and Cold War experiences, institutional frameworks such as Joint Special Operations Command, French constitutional interpretations such as the domaine réservé, and different legal justifications for intervention each played a decisive role in producing the strategic divergence between the two countries.
Recommended Citation
Blackwood, Matthew B., "Inherited Strategies: Why the U.S. and France Pursued Different Counterterrorism Approaches in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel" (2026). Honors Theses. 3591.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3591
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.