Mitigating Farmer-Herder Violence in Mali
The confluence between farmer-herder violence, ethnicity, and extremist groups requires a multitiered response emphasizing a people-centric approach.
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The confluence between farmer-herder violence, ethnicity, and extremist groups requires a multitiered response emphasizing a people-centric approach.
Lt. Col. Alou Boi Diarra's research found a strong link between farmer-herder conflict and an emphasis on state security over human security.
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Professor of Practice and Director of Engagement. Areas of Expertise: East Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, peacekeeping, global health and development policy, U.S.-Africa policy, and the role of Congress in foreign relations.
The effects of desertification are widespread and growing worse, contributing to heightened resource competition, conflict, and hunger.
Conflicts of interest within Africa's fisheries sector enable unsustainable exploitation by foreign fishing firms and undercut the political will needed to build more robust surveillance and prosecutorial capacity.
December 2016 Video: Africa’s Contemporary Security Trends, Joseph Siegle Video: Democratic Transitions and Security in Africa, Dorina Bekoe Video: Resource Management and Conflict, Willene Johnson Video: Countering Violent Extremism in Africa, Angela Martin Video: Maritime Safety and Security in Africa, Assis Malaquias Video: Collective Approaches to Security, Dorina Bekoe Video: Climate Change in Africa, James... Continue Reading
The Africa Center advances African security by expanding understanding, providing a trusted platform for dialogue, building enduring partnerships, and catalyzing strategic solutions.
Estimates are that more than half of all Africans will live in cities by 2025. This rapid pace of urbanization is creating a new locus of fragility in many African states—as evidenced by the burgeoning slums around many of the continent’s urban areas—and the accompanying rise in violence, organized crime, and the potential for instability. These evolving threats, in turn, have profound implications for Africa’s security sector.
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) Beyond Internal Conflict: The Emergent Practice of Climate Security By Joshua W Busby, Journal of Peace Research, December 28, 2020 Challenges to climate-related security include but are not limited to resource competition, shocks to food security, climate-induced migration, transboundary water management, and unintended consequences from climate policies.... Continue Reading
A significant development in Africa over the past decade has been the generalized lessening of violent conflict. Revitalized, expanded international peacekeeping, bolstered by a newly launched African Union determination to tackle security challenges, has reinforced this trend. But, much more cohesive interagency coordination under strong White House direction is required if the United States is to contribute to Africa’s sustained stability given the region’s persistent conditions of poverty, inequality, and weak governance.
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) The Growing Complexity of Farmer-Herder Conflict in West and Central Africa By Leif Brottem, July 12, 2021 The rise of farmer-herder violence in Africa is more pernicious than fatality figures alone since it is often amplified by the emotionally potent issues of ethnicity, religion, culture, and land.... Continue Reading
Extensive flooding in more than two dozen African countries due to higher-than-average rainfall has resulted in thousands of fatalities, millions of people displaced, and devastated infrastructure.