A joint French and African military intervention in Mali, initiated on January 11, 2013, resulted in the recapture of the northern regions from jihadist groups who had pushed out Tuareg rebels fighting for the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA). The destabilization of Mali is a direct consequence of the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. Mali’s instability also springs from the most ancient human dynamics: perceptions of the Other, connections between the authorities and their territories, changes in what is considered sacred, and the attitudes of regional actors. To understand and analyze Mali’s trajectory during 2011, a long-term view must be taken, if only to avoid oversimplification.