The Sahel Research Group at the University of Florida is no longer active on Bluesky. Please follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook, or visit our website https://sahelresearch.africa.ufl.edu/https://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mo2fzdgpkc2yDear friends of the Sahel, we are closing this account and invite you to follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook11 Jun 2026 23:48 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mo2fzdgpkc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mnxckn26hs25This new working paper suggests that the structural position occupied by checkpoints in transport networks shapes spatial variations of violence in West Africa https://www.diis.dk/en/research/violent-roads10 Jun 2026 18:08 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnxckn26hs25https://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mmyp42hc3k2gLatest News Brief on the Sahel — Click here to read and subscribe! https://mailchi.mp/e18cd341be0b/weekly-news-from-the-sahel-1756948229 May 2026 14:00 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmyp42hc3k2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mmttfdtaf22eWe wish everyone a happy Tabaski. Eid Mubarak!27 May 2026 15:33 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmttfdtaf22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mlvryc4b3k24Why Niger Can Seize Uranium but Cannot Sell It https://www.fpri.org/article/2026/04/why-niger-can-seize-uranium-but-cannot-sell-it/15 May 2026 16:48 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvryc4b3k24https://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mlvruqtivk24Recently published - A pathway to food and nutritional security in the Sahel in the context of climate change: A One Health framework https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1079/cabionehealth.2026.001215 May 2026 16:46 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvruqtivk24https://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mlvildevvk2eLatest News Brief on the Sahel — Please note that will we be publishing on a biweekly schedule for the summer. Look out for the next news brief on 29 May. https://mailchi.mp/c51052d2546b/weekly-news-from-the-sahel-1756923115 May 2026 14:00 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvildevvk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mknqs4iq422rWest African states respond to insurgencies by building city walls and fortifying borders. While they provide short-term protection, these initiatives can also deepen rural insecurity and civilian vulnerability https://anl.geog.ufl.edu/fortified-landscapes/29 Apr 2026 18:40 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknqs4iq422rhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mjpklm3bac2rFor our last Sahel Seminar of the semester, Baba Adou and Olivier Walther led a discussion on the current tensions around borders and sovereignty between Mali and Mauritania17 Apr 2026 18:30 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjpklm3bac2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mjp2xjdbsk2dAfrica’s margins have become its main theatre of violence. Yet, borderlands are more than conflict spillover zones. They are strategic infrastructure, acting as connective tissue sustaining conflict systems that span countries and resist resolution for years https://africanarguments.org/2026/04/why-african-borderlands-keep-burning/17 Apr 2026 13:50 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjp2xjdbsk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mjp2tg2ptk2dIn Irregular Warfare Initiative, Steven Radil and Olivier Walther argue that conflict has memory, i.e. that yesterday’s situation constrains today’s options, making short-term stabilization harder over time https://irregularwarfare.org/articles/conflict-memory-local-war-trajectories/17 Apr 2026 13:48 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjp2tg2ptk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mjp2psldv22dNEW - Leonardo A Villalón reflects on 30 years of democratic work in Niger in "Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000-2025: A Political Historical Reassessment" edited by Corrado Tornimbeni and Timothy Scarnecchia https://boydellandbrewer.com/book/democracy-in-sub-saharan-africa-2000-2025-9781847014290/?v=0b3b97fa668817 Apr 2026 13:46 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjp2psldv22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mgxjgbw3ds2oWhat does Epstein's network in Africa look like? SRG Alex Orenstein reveals the extent of the connections between the American financier and certain African leaders, aimed at financing major port infrastructure projects and securing access to natural resources, in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and Gabon13 Mar 2026 18:14 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgxjgbw3ds2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mgo34arimc2aNEW - Circuits and movement in religious transnationalism: a Tijani community between Mbour, Fez and Mantes-la-Jolie, by SRG Abdoulaye Kane https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/4FVDPJNPSXPPE8GV76XZ/full?target=10.1080/00083968.2025.2611750#abstract10 Mar 2026 00:04 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgo34arimc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mgo2xiefa22aNEW DIIS Working Paper - Wars over checkpoints. Nine theses on the politics of roadblocks in conflict-affected borderlands, by Peer Schouten, SRG Olivier Walther and XCEPT team https://www.diis.dk/en/research/wars-checkpoints10 Mar 2026 00:02 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgo2xiefa22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mgo2tkwgws2aNEW -Embodied Religiosity. Religious Practices among the Baye Fall, by Macodou Fall https://brill.com/view/journals/jra/aop/article-10.1163-15700666-bja10148/article-10.1163-15700666-bja10148.xml09 Mar 2026 23:59 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgo2tkwgws2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mgflv6x7p222Latest News Brief on the Sahel — Click on link to read and subscribe! https://mailchi.mp/83d49b74e8ef/weekly-news-from-the-sahel-1756802006 Mar 2026 15:11 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgflv6x7p222https://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mfdleodcms2sToday, several members of the Sahel Research Group attended the workshop "Political Movements in North Africa and the Sahel" organized by the University of Florida Center for Global Islamic Studies and The Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)21 Feb 2026 02:31 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfdleodcms2shttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mem3tyuyhc2lOur colleagues from the SRG project on the impact of climate change in the Sahel are meeting in Dakar this week with their collaborators in the region from Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad.11 Feb 2026 18:22 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mem3tyuyhc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mdnynqkm5c2jThe expansion of JNIM has brought about major changes in the lives of Fulani women in the Sahel. Today, we have the opportunity to discuss this fascinating topic with Corinne Dufka30 Jan 2026 19:05 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdnynqkm5c2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3md4hswo62k2oFor the first Sahel seminar of 2026, Baba Adou and Mohammed Sanda led a discussion on Imam Dicko and the challenges in finding a religious comprise in Mali23 Jan 2026 19:48 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3md4hswo62k2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mczfx3ojw223Happy to see our colleagues Farès Davion interviewed in this blog discussing the future of the AES military force https://horontv.net/force-unifiee-de-laes-une-armee-commune-un-pari-commun/22 Jan 2026 14:37 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mczfx3ojw223https://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mcvel2zmhk2uShould the Sahel Research Group stay on Bluesky? Yes? No? Whatever? Is there still anybody interested in the West African Sahel out there?21 Jan 2026 00:01 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcvel2zmhk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mckehizfds2oLatest News Brief on the Sahel — Click on link to read and subscribe! https://mailchi.mp/862aab424d1d/weekly-news-from-the-sahel-1756712016 Jan 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mckehizfds2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mcixvdursc24NEW - Towards praetorian-led electoral authoritarianism? Examining the post-coup transitions in francophone Africa, by Dr. Sebastian Elischer https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13510347.2026.2612727?src=16 Jan 2026 01:43 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcixvdursc24https://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mci4xrm5qk2vWhat would we be without our amazing doctoral students and recently minted PhDs?15 Jan 2026 17:41 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mci4xrm5qk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3mbtm5urgqc26We are delighted to announce that Corinne Dufka, lead author of the XCEPT report "Peuhl women’s lives under JNIM in the Central Sahel", will discuss her work with us at the Sahel Seminar on 30 January in Gainesville.07 Jan 2026 13:47 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbtm5urgqc26https://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3m7purtzums2vKidnapping for ransom fuels the expansion of jihadist groups in the Sahel, argue our colleagues Alexander Laskaris and Olivier Walther in @africa.theconversation.com https://theconversation.com/kidnapping-for-ransom-in-the-sahel-analysis-of-24-years-of-data-shows-a-new-trend-27071411 Dec 2025 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7purtzums2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3m7pu65laqc2v"West Africa’s transport infrastructure has become a target and a weapon", write Steve Radil, Olivier Walther and Alex Thurston in Africa Defense Forum this week https://adf-magazine.com/2025/12/west-african-terrorist-groups-put-roads-in-their-crosshairs/11 Dec 2025 15:09 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7pu65laqc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/ufsahelresearch.bsky.social/post/3m75zpb5g7k2oThe emphasis placed on external actors in the Malian crisis has contributed to underestimating the role played by successive Malian governments in the deterioration of the security situation, argue Alexander Laskaris and Olivier Walther in @foreignpolicy.com https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/03/mali-junta-france-interventions-un-ecowas/04 Dec 2025 13:00 +0000at://did:plc:gpxmd322ctr2orb3nx2jacxw/app.bsky.feed.post/3m75zpb5g7k2o