Trémolières M, Walther O, Radil S. (2022), Borders and Conflicts in North and West Africa, West African Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/6da6d21e-en.
This report examines the increasing importance of North and West African border regions in the development of armed conflicts since the end of the 1990s. Building on a disaggregated analysis of more than 171 000 violent events, the report shows that border regions are indeed more violent than other regions in general. The report also shows that the relationship of violent events to borders varies significantly over time as discrete episodes of conflict have waxed and waned within the region. Finally, the report shows that, far from being solely determined by state failure or policy, border violence reflects larger political issues that can threaten a state’s very existence.
This report is published as part of the partnership between SWAC/OECD and the Sahel Research Group of the University of Florida coordinated by Dr. Olivier Walther.