Currently, the impacts of Covid-19 are receiving significant global attention. This also applies to the extractive industries, where this global crisis is directing the gaze of policymakers, donors... Show moreCurrently, the impacts of Covid-19 are receiving significant global attention. This also applies to the extractive industries, where this global crisis is directing the gaze of policymakers, donors and academics alike. Covid-19 is seen as having far-reaching and disruptive consequences, especially in the case of artisanal and small-scale mining. While the authors consider this attention important, their work on artisanal and small-scale mining in Ghana – and West Africa more broadly – reveals that for many miners, Covid-19 is ‘just’ another interruption to their lives and lifeworlds which are chronically affected by interruptions of different scales, magnitudes and temporalities. As anthropologists have shown, foregrounding this structural condition – which is emblematic for the lives of many people, especially in the Global South – is key to questioning, understanding and contextualizing the current moment of ‘global’ crisis and must be an element of any policy and research emerging from it. Show less
This article critiques the second-hand vehicle markets in the West African region, focusing on the triad trading arrangements among Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Niger. These countries are connected by... Show moreThis article critiques the second-hand vehicle markets in the West African region, focusing on the triad trading arrangements among Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Niger. These countries are connected by a number of underlying conflicting interests in the second-hand vehicles trade. Benin and Togo are incentivised by the revenues derived from re-export trade and port operations. Niger provides a proxy market for the illegal re-export of these vehicles to Nigeria, with the latter suffering huge welfare losses as a major consuming nation. We conclude that by offering conflicting benefits to the West African countries, the second-hand vehicle market provides disincentives against true regional integration. Show less
Kaag, M.M.A.; Baltissen, G.; Steel, G.; Lodder, A. 2019
This paper presents the results of a short-term research project conducted in 2017/2018 on the various ways in which migration and land dynamics in West Africa are intertwined. Contrary to much... Show moreThis paper presents the results of a short-term research project conducted in 2017/2018 on the various ways in which migration and land dynamics in West Africa are intertwined. Contrary to much conventional (policy) thinking in the European Union (EU) today, our point of departure is not that migration is the problem to be solved – nor that (access to) land is the straightforward means to discouraging migration. Drawing on local case studies in four West African countries, this research aims to shed light on the various relationships between migration and land, and to analyze to what extent they may contribute to or obstruct (local) inclusive and sustainable development in Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Benin. In doing so, we aim to offer food for thought concerning possible ways for making the connection between migration and land more fruitful and productive for as many people as possible, especially in relation to the opportunities and constraints facing different categories of West African youth. Show less
This study analyses some aspects of the impact of European Union migration policies on ECOWAS, the WestAfrican regional economic integration project, and on the migration policies of three... Show moreThis study analyses some aspects of the impact of European Union migration policies on ECOWAS, the WestAfrican regional economic integration project, and on the migration policies of three countries in the region,Nigeria, Mali, and Niger. The study focuses in particular on the divergent perceptions of the issue in Europeand West Africa. While, from the point of view of decision-makers in Europe, migration from Sub-SaharanAfrica has grown since the early 2000s from a problem into a crisis, in West Africa, it is seen as a new phasein the region’s difficult history of socio-economic development. The study revisits the ways in which the EU’srelations with the region were, and still are shaped by the migration issue; reviews and discusses the migration policies of ECOWAS in context; analyses the parameters of the migration issue area in Nigeria and Mali, emphasising in particular the historical perspective in which they make sense; discusses the ways in which the EU has sought to influence the policies of these countries in this connection; examines the peculiar case of Niger, a ‘transit country’ transformed into an immigration officer for the EU; and reviews and discussesthe implications for the socio-economic progress of the region and of these three countries. In conclusion,the study emphasises that the EU and West African states have a divergent understanding of what is atstake, with the result that dialogue devolves into ineffective initiatives that reflect both the lack of coherenceand the power – in terms of resources – of the EU position. Recommended measures are suggestedthat may help to establish the balance necessary for dialogue and provide a way out of a questionable – ornon-existent - strategy. Show less
La présente étude a pour objet d’analyser certains aspects de l’impact des politiques migratoires de l’Union Européenne sur la CEDEAO, le projet d’intégration économique régionale de l’Afrique de l... Show moreLa présente étude a pour objet d’analyser certains aspects de l’impact des politiques migratoires de l’Union Européenne sur la CEDEAO, le projet d’intégration économique régionale de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, et sur les politiques migratoires de trois pays de la région, à savoir le Nigeria, le Mali et le Niger. Elle s’intéresse en particulier aux perceptions divergentes de cette problématique en Europe et en Afrique de l’Ouest. Alors que pour les responsables européens, la migration en provenance d’Afrique subsaharienne s’est transformée depuis le début des années 2000 de simple problème en véritable crise, en Afrique de l’Ouest, elle n’est vue que comme une nouvelle phase dans l’histoire du difficile développement socioéconomique de la région. Cette étude reviendra sur la façon dont les relations qu’entretient l’UE avec l’Afrique de l’Ouest ont été et continuent d’être façonnées par la question migratoire, puis examinera et discutera des politiques migratoires de la CEDEAO dans ce contexte, analysera les paramètres de la question migratoire au Nigeria et au Mali, en insistant tout particulièrement sur la perspective historique dans laquelle ils s’inscrivent, discutera de la façon dont l’UE a cherché à influencer les politiques de ces pays dans ce domaine, examinera le cas particulier du Niger, ‘pays de transit’ devenu agent de l’immigration de l’UE, puis examinera et discutera des implications pour le développement socioéconomique de la région en général, et de ces trois pays en particulier. En conclusion, nous verrons que l’UE et les Etats d’Afrique de l’Ouest ayant une vision divergente des enjeux, tout dialogue ne peut produire que des initiatives inefficaces qui reflètent à la fois le manque de cohérence mais aussi la suprématie – en termes de ressources – de la position européenne. Des mesures seront également proposées afin d’aider à rétablir l’équilibre nécessaire à un dialogue et offrir un moyen de sortir d’une stratégie contestable - voire inexistante. Show less
Een groot deel van de bevolking van Mali, Guinée en Gambia beschouwt zich als afstammelingen van de held Sunjata of van diens helpers. Het verhaal over Sunjata’s daden wordt al eeuwenlang van... Show moreEen groot deel van de bevolking van Mali, Guinée en Gambia beschouwt zich als afstammelingen van de held Sunjata of van diens helpers. Het verhaal over Sunjata’s daden wordt al eeuwenlang van generatie op generatie overgedragen; reeds in de veertiende eeuw hoorde de wereldreiziger Ibn Battuta hoe een griot een vorst bezong als afstammeling van Sunjata. Deze traditie over Sunjata is zodoende een unieke historische bron voor een deel van Afrika waarvoor geschreven bronnen zeer schaars zijn.De hier gepubliceerde versie is het erfgoed van de familie Diabate uit Kela, de griots van de vorsten van Kangaba. Kangaba was een zeer belangrijk politiek centrum in het Mali-rijk dat in de Middeleeuwen grote delen van West-Afrika omvatte. De versie van de familie Diabate uit Kela verweeft op een subtiele manier politieke claims van de vorsten van Kangaba in een zeer onderhoudende vertelling over Sunjata’s leven. Show less
Using my own experience as a sports administrator, I describe and analyse the organisational culture of West African sports. As a cultural anthropologist and draughts player, I have been President... Show moreUsing my own experience as a sports administrator, I describe and analyse the organisational culture of West African sports. As a cultural anthropologist and draughts player, I have been President of the F‚d‚ration Mondiale du Jeu de Dames for eleven years, followed by four years as Executive Vice-President of the Conf‚d‚ration Africaine du Jeu de Dames. Using a series of first hand cases, five major principles of 'management culture' or 'board-room culture' are discerned and analysed that seem to inform the way power is handled in West African sports. These are: personal presence, the primacy of the official, the importance of board positions, the personalisation of power and finally the use of the past to legitimise the present. In all of them, the small world of draughts offers an insider's view of the relationship between notions of power, the politicisation of sports and the processes of neo-patrimonialism that inform African politics more generally. The article ends with some thoughts on the cultural specificity of these processes in West Africa and on the position of sports in the wider African society. I have been President of the F‚d‚ration Mondiale du Jeu de Dames for eleven years, followed by four years as Executive Vice-President of the Conf‚d‚ration Africaine du Jeu de Dames. Using a series of first hand cases, five major principles of 'management culture' or 'board-room culture'are discerned and analysed that seem to inform the way power is handled in West African sports. These are: personal presence, the primacy of the official, the importance of board positions, the personalisation of power and finally the use of the past to legitimise the present. In all of them, the small world of draughts offers an insider's view of the relationship between notions of power, the politicisation of sports and the processes of neo-patrimonialism that inform African politics more generally. The article ends with some thoughts on the cultural specificity of these processes in West Africa and on the position of sports in the wider African society. Show less
The Earth’s biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate in the last decades. Many species, including carnivores, are becoming endangered. The lion was one of the most widely distributed... Show moreThe Earth’s biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate in the last decades. Many species, including carnivores, are becoming endangered. The lion was one of the most widely distributed terrestrial mammals and is today restricted to Gir ecosystem in India and to more or less fragmented populations in sub-saharan Africa. The species is considered as Vulnerable on IUCN Red List. In West Africa, due to its small and fragmented populations, the species is listed as Regionally Endangered. While the species is widely studied in other parts of Africa, it is poorly known in West Africa. The threats to lions, their ecology and their behaviour have not been assessed in the context of this region. In order to fill this gap, this research aims at investigating the ecology of the lion population and conflicts with humans in a West African protected area: Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, Benin. Pendjari Biosphere Reserve is one of the best-managed protected areas in West Africa and is part of the two most promising Lion Conservation Units in the region. It covers about 5,000 km² and is composed of the Pendjari National Park, and the Pendjari and Konkombri hunting zones. Local populations surrounding the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve suffer from livestock depredation mainly by hyena (53.6% of attacks), baboon (24.8% of attacks) and lion (18% of attacks). Most attacks occur during the rainy season when wild prey are scattered and more difficult to hunt. The depredation level is relatively low compared to many other regions in Africa. However the losses are significant, as local populations live below the poverty line. Fortunately, despite these losses and the fear of carnivores, people tolerated conflicts. No retaliatory killing of predators was reported. This could be partly attributed to the social and cultural importance of carnivores. The low level of conflicts in Pendjari is confirmed by the absence of livestock in the diet of lions. In the relatively well protected Sudanian savannah area that Pendjari represents, buffalo is the most consumed species (50% of the prey biomass consumed). However, like in other areas of West and Central Africa, the lion diet is dominated by medium prey (61.7%) while large prey composed 38.2% of the diet. Similarly to what is observed across Africa, smaller prey such as oribi and duiker were avoided and relatively large prey such as waterbuck and hartebeest were preferred. The predominance of small prey in the diet is then due to the relative abundance of these prey and not to the small size of lion groups in the region. There are about 1.6 lions/100 km² in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve. The mean lion group size is of 2.6 lions with a significantly higher group size in the park compared to that in hunting zones. The adult sex ratio of 1 male : 1.04 female is skewed towards males. The small group size could be linked to the low prey and lion densities in the area. The lion population is particularly vulnerable to trophy hunting both in hunting zones of Pendjari and hunting zones of Burkina Faso, as the park’s lion population plays the role of source population while the hunting zone lions represent the sink populations. The mean home range of lionesses (95% MCP: 200 ± 141 km²) is consistent with findings across Africa. Riparian forests, woodlands and dry forests were the preferred lion habitats during the dry season while grasslands and swamps were used according to their availability. The few available results showed that during the rainy season, when most of the reserve is flooded, lions preferred woodlands on hills and avoid grasslands and swamps. The study of the home range and the social structure of lions in Pendjari highlighted the need for a concerted management of Benin and Burkina Faso lion populations for better efficiency. In summary, when protected areas are safe enough, lion population ecology and behaviour are similar across Africa. The Pendjari lion population was increasing and did not represent a great threat to livestock and humans surrounding the reserve. The lion population remained vulnerable, however, mainly because of legal and illegal hunting and human encroachment from neighbouring reserves. The impact of hunting and human activities on the social structure need to be better investigated. To save the lion in the region of West Africa, efforts should be made to safeguard only protected areas but also their surrounding areas. Studies on other issues such as the impact of lion trophy hunting and the relationship between the different large predators will contribute to improve the status of lions and other predators in West Africa. Show less
This rich ethnographic study explores the life and work of successful marabout women in Dakar. it is set against the background of their private family lives, of developments in Senegalese society,... Show moreThis rich ethnographic study explores the life and work of successful marabout women in Dakar. it is set against the background of their private family lives, of developments in Senegalese society, and of global changes. While including female experts in spirit possession and plant-based healing, it also gives a rare insight in the work of women who offer Islamic knowledge such as Arabic astrology, numerology, divination and prayer sessions. With the analysis of marabout women's work this study sheds light on the ways in which women's authority is negotiated, legitimated, and publicly recognised in Dakar. The study focuses especially upon marabout women's strategies to gain their client's trust. Reference to rural areas is a significant element in this process. This study thus contributes to an understanding of a gendered way in which trust ans skepticism are related to marabout's work and of the the role of a connection between Dakar and the rural areas therein. Show less
