Monitoring the Spatial Evolution of Conflicts in North and West Africa II

2023-2024

Principal Investigator at UF: Assistant Professor Olivier J. Walther (lead researcher). Collaborators: Mr. Matthew Pflaum and Mr. David Russell. Lead at OECD: Dr. Marie Trémolières. Consultants: Assistant Professor Steven M. Radil.

Objective

This research program monitors the changing geography of conflicts in North and West Africa. Based on geospatial data provided by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), the program expands previous efforts by the OECD Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) and the University of Florida Sahel Research Group to analyze conflict dynamics in the region. The program continues the development of spatial policy decision, notably the Spatial Conflict Dynamics Indicator (SDCi) that takes into consideration the intensity of violence and its spatial distribution since the late 1990s. The indicator measures the extent to which violence has increased, how it spreads across the region, potentially across borders, and the effectiveness of measures taken to contain it.

Funding

This project is funded by the OECD Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) as part of its annual report on security. It builds on a recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the University of Florida (UF) and the OECD to reinforce existing ties and co-operation between the two institutions. It extends a previous agreement signed in 2017 to promote research and develop place-based policies in the West African Sahel. The collaboration between UF and the OECD has resulted in several pieces of work dedicated to women and trade, regional integration, and security.

Related work

– Trémolières M, Walther O, Radil S. (eds) 2023. Cities and Conflicts in North and West Africa, West African Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris.
– Radil S, Irmisher I, Walther O. 2022. Contextualizing the relationship between borderlands and political violence: A dynamic space-time analysis in West and North Africa. Journal of Borderlands Studies, 37(2): 253-271.
– Trémolières M, Walther O, Radil S. (eds) 2022. Borders and Conflicts in North and West Africa, West African Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris.
– Trémolières M, Walther O, Radil S. (eds) 2021. Conflict Networks in North and West Africa. Paris, OECD Publishing.
– Walther O, Radil S, Russell D. 2021. Mapping the changing structure of conflict in North and West Africa. African Security, 14(3): 211-238.
– Walther O, Radil S, Russell D, Trémolières M. 2021. Introducing the Spatial Conflict Dynamics indicator of political violence. Terrorism and Political Violence, DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2021.1957846
– Trémolières M, Walther O, Radil S. (eds) 2020. The Geography of Conflict in North and West Africa. Paris, OECD Publishing.