Christopher S. Chivvis is Associate Director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center and teaches at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Chivvis has worked in the Pentagon, published in Foreign Policy, The Huffington Post and The New York Times, and appears frequently in media such as CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera. His previous books include Toppling Qaddafi, on NATO's military intervention in Libya, and The Monetary Conservative, a biography of Jacques Rueff.

'Well and comprehensively researched, using multiple interviews with key actors (including a former President of Mali and the French commanding general), The French War on Al Qa'ida in Africa provides a compelling analytical narrative of the important French mission in Mali since 2013. It will stand as a - if not the - major study in English of these important events.' Jolyon Howorth, Yale University

• Preface; 1. France, Mali, and African jihad; 2. Al Qa'ida's North African franchise; 3. French security strategy in the age of kidnappings; 4. Merah and Malistan; 5. Leading Africa from behind; 6. Crisis and opportunity; 7. Serval; 8. The elusive 'political' dimension; 9. The road ahead.

Christopher S. Chivvis is Associate Director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center and teaches at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Chivvis has worked in the Pentagon, published in Foreign Policy, The Huffington Post and The New York Times, and appears frequently in media such as CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera. His previous books include Toppling Qaddafi, on NATO's military intervention in Libya, and The Monetary Conservative, a biography of Jacques Rueff.

'Well and comprehensively researched, using multiple interviews with key actors (including a former President of Mali and the French commanding general), The French War on Al Qa'ida in Africa provides a compelling analytical narrative of the important French mission in Mali since 2013. It will stand as a - if not the - major study in English of these important events.' Jolyon Howorth, Yale University

• Preface; 1. France, Mali, and African jihad; 2. Al Qa'ida's North African franchise; 3. French security strategy in the age of kidnappings; 4. Merah and Malistan; 5. Leading Africa from behind; 6. Crisis and opportunity; 7. Serval; 8. The elusive 'political' dimension; 9. The road ahead.

Christopher S. Chivvis is Associate Director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center and teaches at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Chivvis has worked in the Pentagon, published in Foreign Policy, The Huffington Post and The New York Times, and appears frequently in media such as CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera. His previous books include Toppling Qaddafi, on NATO's military intervention in Libya, and The Monetary Conservative, a biography of Jacques Rueff.

'Well and comprehensively researched, using multiple interviews with key actors (including a former President of Mali and the French commanding general), The French War on Al Qa'ida in Africa provides a compelling analytical narrative of the important French mission in Mali since 2013. It will stand as a - if not the - major study in English of these important events.' Jolyon Howorth, Yale University

• Preface; 1. France, Mali, and African jihad; 2. Al Qa'ida's North African franchise; 3. French security strategy in the age of kidnappings; 4. Merah and Malistan; 5. Leading Africa from behind; 6. Crisis and opportunity; 7. Serval; 8. The elusive 'political' dimension; 9. The road ahead.