Veranstaltungen

The state is a central concept for the study of power, domination, and socio-political change across the social sciences. Its usefulness is however contested, especially in African contexts where the Eurocentric ideal-type of the state stands in marked contrast to political realities on the ground. This raises a number of crucial questions: Through what concepts can one grasp the prominent role of trans- and international connections, networks, and NGOs that influence what statehood stands for?

To address these timely questions among young researchers working on Africa, an international consortium of research institutes in Basel, Freiburg im Breisgau, and Strasbourg is organising three consecutive half-day online workshops dealing with particular topics in this debate. The workshops will provide doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers, as well as advanced MA students, with an opportunity for a thematically focused exchange across the fields of political science, sociology, history, African studies, anthropology, international relations, and peace and conflict studies.

Keynote: Thomas Faist (Universität Bielefeld)

Research presentations:

• Leonie Jegen: Sovereignty and External Actors in Migration Policies in Niger and Senegal
• Patrick Dieudonné Belinga Ondoua : Flux migratoires internes au Cameroun et subjectivation politique par la suspicion dans la ville de Yaoundé
• Grace Atuhaire: State Securitization of Border Communities in Africa