Peace and security for pastoralist communities in African borderlands

Much of Africa’s 83,000 kilometres of borders run through sparsely inhabited territories where state services are scant and state authority is stretched. Pastoralists have been traversing these territories since long before formal borders came into existence.

Pastoral mobility cuts across political boundaries, jurisdictions and authorities, and though they usually do so with a high degree of cooperative engagement between local communities, they can also encounter and become enmeshed in different manifestations of borderland violence – from criminality to human rights violations, armed insurgency and inter-community fighting.

Edited by Conciliation Resources and the Institute of Development Studies.

This Accord Insight publication was produced by Conciliation Resources under the Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme, funded by UK International Development. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Conciliation Resources. Opinions expressed by all contributors are their own.