A political analysis of decentralisation: coopting the Tuareg threat in Mali

The decentralisation programme in Mali received a boost when municipal elec tions were finally held in 1998-99. This programme, initiated in 1992, is n otable for its scope and the degree of autonomy extended to rural and urban communes. Given Mali's history of failed attempts at decentralisation, the current administration's commitment to the programme suggests that politic al motives are driving the reform. The decentralisation effort began as an attempt to placate separatist Tuareg groups in the north of Mali, and was s ubsequently extended to include the rest of the country. I argue that the e xtent of the programme, as well as the relative zeal with which it has been carried out, are products of a political strategy of cooptation on the par t of President Alpha Oumar Konare. This political analysis of decentralisat ion serves as a supplement to policy analyses of decentralisation in genera l.