This June 2024 analysis examines the evolving crisis in the central Sahel, focusing on Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso as they distance themselves from ECOWAS, France and Western security frameworks while turning toward new partners such as Russia, China and other non-Western actors. Written before the latest escalation in Mali, the article provides a useful framework to understand the deeper dynamics behind the region’s instability: military coups, weak state authority, jihadi