Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have formed a mutual defense pact, expelled Western forces, and invited Russian contractors. The result is not victory over jihadists but accelerating state failure—and that may be precisely the point.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have expelled French forces, quit ECOWAS, and embraced Russian mercenaries in the name of sovereignty. But their Alliance of Sahel States has outsourced enforcement to a partner with no interest in their success—only their perpetual dependence.