Azawad’s Facebook Warriors

Michael Keen (BA, Emory University; MLitt, University of St. Andrews) is an analyst whose work focuses on security issues in the Sahel. He has published work on Mali’s recent conflicts in numerous outlets, including Small Wars Journal and Afkar.

• Acknowledgments – Key Acronyms – Introduction – Repression, Rebellion, and Nationalism: Northern Mali/ Azawad Through 2011 – War and Peace in Northern Mali/ Azawad: The MNLA, October 2011–December 2015 – The MNLA on Facebook: Social Media Outreach by the Numbers – A Comparative Look at the MNLA’s Use of Social Media – Dominant Pro-MNLA Discourse Frames and Identity on Facebook – Sacred Visual Motifs in Pro-MNLA Facebook Discourse – Mali Since 2015: A Failing Peace Process and the Death of the MNLA’s Ideology – Conclusion: Change Without Resolution – Appendix 1: Full Texts of Official Social Media Posts Referenced in Chapter 5 – Appendix 2: Links to Selected Images Posted or Shared by Official Accounts Referenced in Chapter 6 – Select Bibliography – Index.

“… an excellent analysis of the MNLA’s struggle for political independence from the long history of the Tuareg rebellion to the current national independence movement. This is still the first major systematic account of history, cultural politics and dynamics of the Azawad resistance. Perhaps, more importantly, this book presents a rigorous in-depth account of the emergence of the pro-MNLA Facebook online community. The rising social media outreach campaign of this group provides food for thought about the future of the MNLA and the implications of pro-MNLA’s online activism for peace and security in Mali. This book is a must read for scholars and practitioners of International Relations and Development Studies, Conflict and Peace Studies, Political Science, Law and Social Media Studies.”—Innocent Chiluwa, Covenant University, Nigeria