Cooperation between intelligence services is often presented as a smooth network of information exchange, united against common threats. In practice, it is a world marked by mistrust, asymmetric capabilities and sometimes diverging interests. Understanding how these services really cooperate requires distinguishing between levels of cooperation and the instruments used, but also the structural obstacles, particularly in West Africa.
Why do intelligence services cooperate?
The primary mission of intelligence services is to protect national interests. Cooperation is therefore never “natural”: it results from a cost-benefit calculation. It develops mainly when:
- the threat is perceived as transnational (terrorism, trafficking, cyber, piracy);
- a state recognises that it cannot handle it alone (lack of technical or human resources, or of territorial access);
- the partners share at least partly converging interests (regional stability, protection of economic routes, fighting a common enemy).
In West Africa and the Sahel, the rise of jihadist groups, organised crime (trafficking in drugs, weapons, gold, migrants) and recent coups have increased the need for intelligence sharing, both between states in the region and with external partners (France, the United States, the European Union, Russia, etc.).
The main formats of cooperation
Discreet bilateral cooperation
The core of cooperation often takes place bilaterally, far from major public statements. Two services agree arrangements, sometimes informal, to:
- exchange information on specific individuals or networks;
- facilitate cross-surveillance (interception, tailing, tracking of financial flows);
- coordinate arrest or detention operations at the border.
These agreements are rarely public. They rely on personal trust between heads of services, on the history of bilateral relations and on a balance of interests: a service may agree to share sensitive information if it obtains technical capabilities, training or even political support in return.
Multilateral networks and regional platforms
Alongside bilateral arrangements, multilateral structures are developing. In West Africa and the Sahel, several frameworks exist, with varying degrees of effectiveness:
- The G5 Sahel (before some states stepped back from it) had set up a Fusion and Liaison Unit (UFL) to centralise and share intelligence between the region’s armed forces and services.
- ECOWAS has early warning mechanisms and analysis cells, fed by member states, but the quality and regularity of contributions remain uneven.
- International missions (the former MINUSMA in Mali, European operations in the Gulf of Guinea, French or American deployments) set up intelligence fusion cells bringing together local forces and foreign partners.
These platforms make it possible to cross-check data from several countries (movements of fighters, trafficking routes, security incidents). However, states remain highly selective about what they pass on, especially when the information touches on domestic political issues or sensitive networks.
Technical exchanges and training
A large part of cooperation takes the form of capacity building:
- provision of surveillance tools (interception, IMSI catchers, data correlation software, drones);
- training in analysis, cybersecurity and countering terrorist financing;
- deployment of advisers embedded within partner services.
These arrangements create permanent exchange channels: local technical teams pass up data that foreign partners help to analyse, in return for privileged access to certain information.
How does information really flow?
The “need to know” principle
In most services, information is shared according to the need to know principle: only the actor who needs the information in order to act receives it. This principle also applies internationally. A service may:
- share a summary or a “sanitised” version of the data, without sources or methods;
- pass on targeted indicators (phone numbers, number plates, identities, routes), without revealing the full context;
- split information between several partners to limit what each one actually knows.
The aim is to benefit from cooperation without losing control over strategic or politically sensitive information.
Levels of sensitivity and compartmentalisation
Not all information circulates at the same level. In simplified terms, one can distinguish:
- Tactical intelligence: short-term data (movement of an armed group, planned attack). Often shared more readily, particularly in an operational context.
- Strategic intelligence: analyses of leaders’ intentions, local alliances, internal rivalries. Shared more rarely, as this information bears directly on political balances.
- Capabilities and methods: degree of penetration of a network, collection techniques. The most sensitive subject, very rarely shared, even between close allies.
Mistrust, asymmetries and hidden agendas
Cooperation does not erase competition
Even when they cooperate, services remain in competition:
- competition for domestic political influence (showing that they are indispensable);
- competition between foreign powers to be the partner of reference for a state or region;
- competition between national services themselves (domestic vs foreign intelligence, military vs civilian).
In West Africa, this competition sometimes results in parallel channels: the same country may receive intelligence from several partners (France, the United States, Russia, Turkey, etc.), which do not necessarily share with one another. National authorities arbitrate, use or withhold the information according to their political priorities.
Risks of leaks and politicisation
Services hesitate to share when they fear:
- leaks to hostile actors (armed groups, competing services, rival powers);
- political exploitation of shared intelligence (use against the opposition or internal rivals, or to justify contested measures);
- reputational damage (exposure of local collusion, abuses, corruption).
These risks are particularly acute in contexts of political transition, coups or strong internal tensions, as seen recently in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Focus on West Africa: between necessity and fragility
A highly interdependent environment
Porous borders, the mobility of armed groups and traffickers, and cross-border community ties make cooperation indispensable. Jihadist networks operate across several countries at once (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, northern Benin and Togo, northern Côte d’Ivoire), forcing services to:
- track individuals who regularly change their area of operation;
- cross-check information with the defence and security forces (FDS) and local authorities;
- integrate data from international partners with advanced technical capabilities.
Unequal capabilities and dependencies
West African services face several constraints: limited resources, lack of technical means, difficulties in inter-agency coordination, political pressure. This creates:
- a dependence on external partners for technical collection (satellite imagery, interception, cyber);
- an imbalance in exchanges: some services receive more than they can provide in return, which affects their bargaining power;
- a risk of capture of priorities: the security agenda may be influenced by the interests of the partners that fund or equip the services.
The role of non-state actors and informal networks
A significant share of useful intelligence comes from:
- local communities, traditional chiefs, religious leaders;
- self-defence militias, armed community groups;
- informal economic actors, transporters, smugglers.
International cooperation must therefore work alongside these local circuits, without making them too visible or exposing them. This further complicates the flow of information: some elements stay at local level, others are passed up through intermediaries and are then shared, or not, with foreign partners.
What fiction suggests… and what practice shows
Media portrayals often suggest:
- massive, instant information sharing between allies;
- perfect coordination of cross-border operations;
- a clear line between “friends” and “enemies”.
The reality is more nuanced:
- sharing is selective, often slow, and filtered by political considerations;
- entire areas remain poorly covered, for lack of resources or reliable human access;
- the same local actor may be at once a source of information, an occasional partner and, at times, close to armed groups.
Researchers and practitioners also stress the limits of the “intelligence solution”: without reforms in governance, justice, local development and conflict management, even a very high level of cooperation is not enough to stabilise crisis areas over the long term.
Recent trends and watch points
Several developments are now shaping cooperation between services:
- Digitalisation and big data: an explosion in the data to be processed (telephony, digital networks, transactions), requiring analytical capabilities that many services do not yet have.
- More external partners: diversification of support (Russia, Turkey, Gulf states, China), which makes the landscape of cooperation more complex, particularly in the Sahel.
- Political realignments: coups, breaks or shifts in alliances (for example, withdrawal from some regional cooperation frameworks), which alter exchange channels and levels of trust.
For organisations and companies operating in the region, these dynamics mean that the information available through official channels may be partial, fragmented or subject to political bias. A detailed understanding of the balance of power between services, their external alliances and their internal constraints is becoming a key element of strategic analysis.