Urbanisation and Conflicts in North and West Africa

The team and acknowledgments

The editorial and drafting team at the SWAC/OECD Secretariat:

Editorial leadership and drafting: Marie Trémolières

Editing: Vicky Elliott, Lia Beyeler, Jennifer Sheahan, Poeli Bojorquez

Layout: Luminess

This work is carried out under the memorandum of understanding between the SWAC/OECD and the University of Florida Sahel Research Group.

Olivier J. Walther, Ph.D., provided scientific direction and co-ordinated the mapping, analysis and drafting of the report. Dr Walther is an Assistant Professor in Geography at the University of Florida (UF) and a consultant for SWAC/OECD. His current research focuses on cross-border trade and transnational political violence in West Africa. Dr Walther is an Associate Editor of Political Geography and a “chief” of the African Borderlands Research Network. He leads the UF African Networks Lab and is a faculty member of the UF Sahel Research Group. Over the last ten years, he has served as a lead investigator or partner on externally funded research projects from the OECD, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the United Nations. E-mail: [e-mail]

Steven M. Radil, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Geosciences at the United States Air Force Academy. Dr Radil is a political geographer and primarily researches the spatial dimensions of political violence in the international system, including civil war, insurgency and terrorism. In Africa, he has previously published on the diffusion of the internationalised civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and on the territorial ambitions of Islamist-inspired insurgencies. He has methodological expertise in spatial analysis, social network analysis, and geographic information science (GIS) and routinely uses these tools in his work. E-mail: [e-mail]

Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense or the United States Government.

Other contributors

David G. Russell is a PhD student in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida (UF). Prior to joining UF, Mr. Russell was a Senior Research Specialist with the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University. He holds an MSc in Geography from the University of Idaho and a BA in History from Middlebury College. His research focuses on quantifying the spatio-temporal patterns of political violence and on how geopolitical rhetoric shapes the ways people see the world and its history. Mr. Russell has conducted research at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. Email: [e-mail]

Matthew Pflaum is a PhD student in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida. He holds an MSc in African Studies and International Development from the University of Edinburgh and an MPH in global health/infectious disease from Emory University. He is broadly interested in mobility and violence in West Africa and the Sahel and the factors contributing to joining militias and extremist organisations. The focus of his work is on pastoralist groups and the tensions that arise over resources, land, governance, mobility and power. E-mail: [e-mail]

Alexander Thurston, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. His research focuses on Islam and politics in northwest Africa, especially in Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria. He has held fellowships with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Wilson Center, and the American Council of Learned Societies. His most recent book is Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel: Local Politics and Rebel Groups (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Email: [e-mail]

Acknowledgments

The team wishes to dedicate this report to Mr. Laurent Bossard, Director of SWAC/OECD Secretariat and to thank him for his important and insightful contributions to the series of SWAC/OECD security reports over the years. Laurent, a passionate believer in the importance of security issues for the West Africa region, will retire from his functions in May 2023. His team are grateful for his long-standing support and guidance.

The team wishes to also thank Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki, SWAC Honorary President, for his continued support and dedicated commitment to building political advocacy for security issues throughout his tenure. Dr. Mayaki stepped down from this role in December 2022.

The team also wishes to thank the following individuals for their contribution to the writing of this report: Professor Leonardo A. Villalón, University of Florida; Dr Nicholas Dorward, University of Bristol; Professor Clionadh Raleigh, University of Sussex; Dr Roudabeh Kishi, Ms Juliet Delate Iler, ACLED; Dr Jean-Hervé Jézéquel, Dr Ibrahim Yahiya Ibrahim, International Crisis Group; Cadets First Class Daniel Heidenreich, Ryan Leach, Michael Neacsu, and Tristan Trager, U.S. Air Force Academy.