The Burning Niger Issue Shapes The Identity Of The Regional Power

Recent developments in the Sahel region, the most prominent of which remains the military coup that overthrew the elected president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, reveal geostrategic perceptions generated by this crisis that give strong indications of the regional power in North Africa and the Sahel that cannot be bypassed in any decision at this level.
Since the overthrow of the Nigerien president on July 26, Algeria has been at the center of interest of the world powers. The first envoy sent by the Economic Community of West African States “ECOWAS” visited Algeria, and the aim was to anticipate its position on military intervention, as well as the possibility of assistance in the event it was decided to take such action, but the Algerian response was strict and does not accept any interpretation, which is an absolute refusal.
Once Algeria had made its position clear, the camp calling for the use of force against the rebels (coup leaders) began to waver, and the Algerian proposal calling for a peaceful solution gained momentum, which was then adopted by the ECOWAS member states themselves, such as Chad, as well as Mali and Burkina Faso. Then came the Italian position, which also rejected the military decision, and with it the German position, so that the French position, which was strongly pushed behind the Organization of West African States, remained a dissonance between the camp of the elders, especially within the European Union.
The Algerian presence as a regional force that cannot be ignored in the region, in the context of the search for a solution to the crisis of the Niger state, was strengthened by the interest shown by the United States of America, which invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf, to visit Washington at a time when the crisis in Niger was at its height.
What was remarkable about the American position was that it was in line with the Algerian position, which rejects a decision based on the option of force. Although Washington is a traditional ally of France and has troops on the ground in the Sahel region to fight terrorism, it did not hesitate to call for sufficient time to be given to peaceful solutions, thus bypassing the impulsive French position towards the logic of force.
It is known that the Moroccan regime disputes with Algeria the description of a “regional power” and presents itself as a key country, but none of the parties directly involved in the Niger crisis, whether in the Economic Organization of West African States, France or the United States of America, has sent a representative for this purpose. To Morocco, or to receive a Moroccan official, as happened with Algeria, which received a delegate from “ECOWAS”, and Attaf traveled to America to discuss the issue of Niger, and before that, the Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army, Army General Said Chanegriha, visited Moscow and the Niger file was also present in the talks.
One of the characteristics of a country that bears the hallmarks of a “regional power” is that it is present in every crisis that affects the region or territory in which it is located, by playing a role or advising the countries directly affected by that crisis, either on its own initiative or at the request of an active power such as the United States or Russia or a regional organization, represented, in the case of Niger, by ECOWAS.
The above-mentioned specifications place Morocco outside the circle of the “regional power”, since it did not participate in any consultations on this crisis, whether the United States, Russia or the “ECOWAS” organization called for it. This means that they are convinced that the Moroccan regime has nothing to do with it. This shows that Washington, Moscow and ECOWAS consider Algeria as the only regional power in North and West Africa and the Sahel.