Stefano Recchia holds the John G. Tower Distinguished Chair in International Politics and National Security as an associate professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, USA.

Thierry Tardy is Director of the Research Division at the NATO Defence College in Rome, Italy, and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium.

This book explores France's African intervention policy and the country's attempts to re-legitimise its military presence in Africa by relying on multilateral cooperation through the United Nations, the European Union, and various ad hoc frameworks.

Introduction: French military operations in Africa: Reluctant multilateralism

Stefano Recchia and Thierry Tardy

1. France's interventions in Mali and the Sahel: A historical institutionalist perspective

Tony Chafer, Gordon Cumming and Roel van der Velde

2. A legitimate sphere of influence: Understanding France's turn to multilateralism in Africa

Stefano Recchia

3. France's military operations in Africa: Between institutional pragmatism and agnosticism

Thierry Tardy

4. Multilateralism as a tool: Exploring French military cooperation in the Sahel

Benedikt Erforth

5. A tale of three French interventions: Intervention entrepreneurs and institutional intervention choices

Marina Henke