African Borderlands Research Network - Aborne

27/08/2026

ABORNE is in Lagos this week!

20/07/2026

We are thrilled to have Mr. Ziad Hamoui join our Executive Committee. Mr. Hamoui is a chartered logistician, regional integration advocate, and passionate Pan-Africanist with 23 years of private sector experience.

Mr. Hamoui is a founding member and current National President for Ghana of Borderless Alliance and has been part of the African Governance and Space (AFRIGOS) project examining transport corridors, border towns and port cities in four regions of Africa led by Professor Paul Nugent.

As Executive Director of Tarzan Enterprise Ltd., Mr. Hamoui has spent over two decades navigating the transport landscape in Ghana, complemented by 15 years of international development expertise across West Africa.

A warm welcome to ABORNE, Ziad!

20/07/2026

ABORNE panels at ECAS 2027 - Deadline 1 September 2026! ABORNE is entitled to mount two panels or roundtables at the next European Conference on African Studies (ECAS) scheduled for Lisbon 30 June - 3 July 2027.

The call for papers has gone live and panel proposals need to be submitted online by 27 September: https://www.ecasconference.org/2027/call-for-panels/

The Chiefs of ABORNE will do a selection of the two panel proposals to go forward. The date for proposals 1 September, which leaves enough time for any unsuccessful entries to still go forward as ordinary panel proposals. Please note that you need to renew your ABORNE membership to be eligible to nominate an ABORNE panel.

We will follow the ECAS guidance: "All panels must have at least two co-convenors (panel organisers) from different institutions. Please include the panel title, a short description (max. 300 characters) and an abstract (max. 250 words). If already known, please add your chair and discussants.”

Please send your proposals to Paul Nugent

We are warmly inviting panel proposals from scholars of all relevant fields within African Studies. Please read the requirements and guidelines carefully and then proceed to submit your panel proposal.

13/07/2026

New in African Arguments - Ghana’s Northern Sovereignty Gap: JNIM and the Burkinabe Border, by Abdul Salifu and Steven Radil https://africanarguments.org/2026/07/ghanas-northern-sovereignty-gap-jnim-and-the-burkinabe-border/

13/07/2026

The new Routledge Handbook of African borderlands is out! https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-African-Borderlands/Walther-Moyo-Soi/p/book/9781032857794

29/04/2026

West African countries are fortifying their borders

West African states respond to insurgencies by building city walls and fortifying borders, balancing protection with rural vulnerabilities.

16/04/2026

In this new blog, ABORNE Olivier Walther and Steven Radil argue that, far from being limited to serving as a refuge or transit zone for armed groups, borderlands provide the resources necessary for the development of unique trajectories of violence that can spread across countries over long periods of time.

Africa’s margins have become its main theatre of violence. From the Great Lakes region to the Sahel, armed groups exploit borderlands as safe havens and logistics hubs.