The growing virulence of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has heightened concerns of instability across the Maghreb and Sahel. In recent years, AQIM militias have conducted operations across wide swaths of northern Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and southern Algeria. Efforts to counter al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's (AQIM) growing influence in both the Maghreb and the Sahel are fragmented because of the inability of neighbors to forge collaborative partnerships. Algeria faces inverse incentives to combat AQIM outside of Algiers as it gains much of its geostrategic leverage by maintaining overstated perceptions of a serious terrorism threat. The Algerian government's limited legitimacy, primarily derived from its ability to deliver stability, constrains a more comprehensive regional strategy.
Note
Online resource, PDF version; title from title page (viewed April 7, 2012).