Democracy is in retreat across the Sahel as insurgency, terrorism, and coups plague the region. While democracy has taken root in Niger and thrives in the unrecognized state of Somaliland, other countries are less fortunate. Mali was once among Africa’s most democratic countries, but it has suffered two coups in less than two years. Burkina Faso has experienced four coups in eight years. Corrupt leaders in Ethiopia and Nigeria wage war against their countries’ ethnic and/or religious minorities. Egypt, Sudan, and Tunisia have all ended their flirtation with democracy, and Algeria never bothered to try.

There is no magic formula to reverse the trend, though certain U.S. policy adjustments could go a long way. Washington need not recognize Somaliland’s independence, for example, to nurture its democracy and further a symbiotic partnership. The State Department should calibrate its ties to reality rather than wishful thinking. To waive sanctions on Nigeria for its violations of religious freedom only convinces bigoted rulers like President Muhammadu Buhari that they quite literally can get away with murder.

As I wrote last week at RealClearDefense, playing whack-a-mole with drones only goes so far: The United States could, with very little investment in non-governmental organizations like HALO Trust and MAG International, reduce regional insurgencies by helping governments secure weapons depots to deny groups like Boko Haram supplies—not only in Nigeria but also in Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. So long as insurgent groups run rampant across weak or recovering states, it will be impossible for democracy to thrive. Security matters.

Certainly, the United States should not fall victim to extortion in which foreign leaders reject reform or roll back democracy to battle terrorists whom they then have no personal interest in defeating. This was the mistake U.S. Ambassador Donald Yamamoto made in Somalia.

It is important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, however. Chad, the crossroads of the Sahel, has long suffered insecurity. Beginning in 1978, the country fought a nearly decade-long war with Libya that led directly to the rise of Chadian military officer Idriss Déby to the presidency. Déby was a dictator, albeit one who often got a free pass because of his cooperation with French counterterror concerns. Just over a year ago, however, he died fighting Islamist insurgents on the frontline.

Déby’s son Mahamat quickly succeeded him. The process was not democratic; Déby’s allies simply installed the 37-year-old general in his father’s place. Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has rightly criticized this move as an affront to democracy. Menendez is both correct to push for a democratic process and right to recognize Chad’s regional importance. Indeed, his interest in the region is an important corrective to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s neglect.

Menendez’s declaration that he will “object to the provision of security assistance to Chad until the Administration devises a comprehensive plan that includes robust support for good governance and institution strengthening,” if taken to an extreme, will be counterproductive. No matter who reigns in the Chadian capital N’Djamena, both Chad and the United States have an interest that the Chadian military can keep weapons depots safe from Boko Haram raids and secure from would-be corrupt profiteers. So too do the neighboring states who suffer as insurgents ignore borders.

Menendez is right to pressure the State Department not to simply conduct business as usual in Chad. Congress might call out corruption and impose Global Magnitsky Act sanctions on human rights abusers. It is important to nudge Chad toward elections. But it is important to differentiate between strategies which empower Mahamat Déby as a person versus those that benefit all Chadians and U.S. national security. It is essential to allow U.S.-funded NGOs and American military experts to help Chad secure its weaponry.

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