GEOPOLITICAL RECONFIGURATION AND COMPETING SECURITY ARCHITECTURES IN THE SAHEL: RUSSIA’S AFRICA CORPS AND ITALY’S MISIN IN THE WAKE OF WESTERN WITHDRAWAL

This thesis investigates the geopolitical and security evolution of the Sahel, a region currently undergoing a profound transformation from a "belt of instability" to a central arena of global power competition. The research aims to analyze the structural causes of the Western security failure in the region and the subsequent rise of alternative intervention models, focusing on the strategic transition from French hegemony to Russian penetration and the specificities of the Italian bilateral approach