suppose America or France don’t like seeing some rebel army successfully pushing against government forces or another bunch of rebels in a particular province. Unfortunately, the rebels refuse to be bribed today because they figure that tomorrow the bribe offered for the same thing will be bigger. Plus, the rebels have no presidential jet that can be bombed or presidential palace that can be raided by commandos. Maybe they are too poor to even have any Swiss bank accounts… Meanwhile, the Pakistani peacekeepers are just patrolling the perimeter of refugee “safe zones” and rebels simply go around those fortified points, ignoring them.
Anyway, so what can the Western power do in this situation and what have they in practice tried doing? Can they inflict meaningful amount of pain on a typical African rebel army by bombing it? Would providing photos from drones to their enemies make much of a difference? Can they tell the Pakistanis to go do real infantry battle in the bush and actually change the balance of force on the ground?
Generally, they fund the rebel’s opposition, whoever those are. Western powers are not going to directly conduct bombing runs on African targets or send their own troops into harm’s way anymore. It doesn’t play well back home - seen* Black Hawk Down*?
When military force (either direct, or indirect through funding their opposition) is not workable, the other general option is to go for economic control.
If the rebels are funded by selling ivory, or diamonds, install requirements for certified origin documents in the ivory/diamond trade markets back in Europe/America, thus severely restricting their sales.
If the rebels are supported by locals who grow pineapples for a living, start large scale cultivation of pineapples somewhere we control, like Hawaii, and flood the pineapple market, putting those locals out of business.
If the rebels seize control of the government of the island (Cuba) that has sugar as its main cash crop, expand the production of sugar beets in the Red River Valley, and the production of corn made into high fructose corn syrup in the Midwest, gain control of the sweetener market, and force the price of cane sugar so low that the rebels are driven into poverty.