While degradation is certainly a reality in some localities of the Sahel or with respect to certain components of the environment, it is now acknowledged that there is no evidence of a catastrophic regional environmental crisis; in retrospect it now seems that the mostly reversible effects of a persistent drought were simply confused with long-term degradation.

The research’s methodology is based on secondary sources’ data analysis; it primarily adopts a theoretical approach oriented towards a descriptive review of concepts, interpretations and assumptions related to desertification, their contextual operationalization and framing of
action. The critique proposed in the second part of the dissertation finds its theoretical background in critical strands of political ecology and, more importantly, environmental policy processes research. Thanks to the analytical lens offered by this background, the desertification policy puzzle is better framed and understood, and explications are found related to the United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification’s recent strategic shifts, which are grounded into the tradition of contradictory and un-linear policy phases of desertification. Dissertation for Master’s Degree in Development Studies (MDEV). Included in full text with the permission of the author. The contents and views included are based on independent research and do not necessarily
reflect the position of UNCCD.