204 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 13 / 2019 Terrorism and organised crime, two phenomena distinguished by their final stra-tegic objective, share the same skill and methods of action to use the empty expanses that the Sahel offers and create new forms of “sovereignty”, preventing social, econom-ic and democratic development. This in itself constitutes the true hybrid threat for security. With the appearance of ISIS, radicalisation processes have been accelerated and are motivated more by personal aspects than by profound ideological convictions, which is why the narrative they use has also attracted Muslims with a criminal back-ground, favouring the connection between crime and jihadism; a connection which is becoming more and more visible in the way these organisations act, determining their areas of influence98. And although it cannot be asserted that ISIS’ strategy is geared to recruiting followers from among this group and provoking the criminal synergies that have ensued, the fact is that its narrative plays on many of the vital urges that persons of such a background are partial to. This is apparent in that ISIS not only tolerates criminal activities to obtain finance, but also supports it through its doctrine which states that such activities are correct if they serve the ends of the jihad. One may therefore conclude that the terrorist phenomenon in the Sahel, whose cause feeds on contexts of local political and socio-economic conflict, takes on com-plex features, consolidating itself as a “network-centric” system, which is functional thanks to the hybrid management of multiple conflicting interests. The latter can ei-ther be their own, or relate to a (local, regional and global) political level, or be derived from third “exotic” parties, such as transnational crime. It thereby acquires a structure of power which is typical of a “Mafia state”. Conclusions This article sets out a perspective to place the terrorist phenomenon in the Sahel within the context of current geopolitical dynamics, which are characterised by an increasingly globalised and interdependent international system whose multipolar na-ture is still being shaped. Defining terrorism in the Sahel without the framework of multipolar competition is a futile effort, as it is vital to understand how local conflicts, terrorism and illicit trafficking blend into the relational system of this region in an interrelated way, turning this complex threat into a functioning reality. In the Sahel, global competition manifests itself through a system of “permanent conflict”, where terrorism and the multiplications of the crisis present themselves as a “logical” effect and phenomenon of economic globalisation, providing a favourable highlight the collaboration of his father Carlos, a member of Saddam Hussein’s Baath movement who subsequently linked up with Hezbollah and Iran and became active in handling passports to allow fugitives of Syrian origin to go to Venezuela and create these cells. 98 RAJAN, Basra et al. “Criminal Pasts, Terrorist Futures: European Jihadists and the new crime Terror Nexus”, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, Occasional Paper 2016, London, p.6. Available at: https://goo.gl/8cRxc6 (consulted on: 2 May 2018). Revista del Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos n.º 13 - Año: 2019 - Págs.: 181 a 212
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