Trans-border Mobility and Security in the Sahel: Exploring the Dynamics of Forced Migration and Population Displacements in Burkina Faso and Mali

Burkina Faso and Mali have been grappling with multiple security threats including jihadist challenge, military coup d’état, violent extremism, and poor governance. These complex security problems have escalated into national conflicts, state failure, internal displacements, and forced migration. This paper examined the changing patterns of the drivers and enablers of these security threats and how these forces feed into the protracted challenges of forced migration and population displacements. Using qualitative methods and documentary evidence, the paper found that poor governance, lack of state-building measures, and socio-economic exclusion of local populations contributed to the worsening crises of forced migration and population displacements in Burkina-Faso and Mali. The paper emphasised the human security perspectives hinged on good governance principles through effective leadership in Burkina-Faso and Mali particularly in the areas of industrialization, employment creation, reduction of poverty, and provision of adequate security for the people.