Melissa Li is a research fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), where she contributes to the institute’s work on peace and security. Her work focuses on stabilization, conflict analysis and prevention, as well as the role of civil society actors and protest movements in crisis contexts.
From 2020 to mid-2021, Melissa worked for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), where she advised donor countries on development financing, focusing on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the new statistical measure Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD). Before she left to work at the OECD, Melissa’s work at GPPi included studying Germany’s ODA and analyzing opportunities to strengthen citizen dialogues on German foreign policy.

Policy Project: Working with Civil Society Groups: How Should European Actors Respond to Anti-French Sentiment in the Sahel?

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In the Sahel region, anti-French sentiment has been steadily gaining ground. Over the last few years, tensions have run high between the French government and military leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso, leading France to the withdrawal its troops in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Resentment over France’s presence in the Sahel is not only rampant among authorities in Bamako and Ouagadougou, but also expands into the local civil societies: In Burkina Faso, protestors have attacked the French embassy, while in Mali, some populist groups have mobilized against French presence. In Niger, where France still maintains good relations with the government in Niamey, activists have also called for protest against France’s military presence. 
Against this backdrop, European actors (e.g., governments, international organizations and civil society organizations) are seeking to collaborate more closely with local civil society actors in the Sahel region. This project aims to address the following questions: What are the effects of anti-French sentiment on these civil society collaborations? Is local resentment ‘only’ directed against France or more generally toward Europe? So far, how have European actors responded to the related challenges, and to what effect?  
lly toward Europe? So far, how have European actors responded to the related challenges, and to what effect?