Dialogue is no cure-all, but recognising jihadists as political actors - not just enemies - reframes the choice: between fighting and talking, between managing defeat and imagining change.

An appeals court in Mauritania handed down a 15-year prison sentence and a $3 million fine to former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz on Wednesday after he appealed a five-year sentence.

Warfighting has only deepened wounds, hardened divides, and fuelled new insurgencies – a rethink is long overdue.