Project mission
Since 2012 the Sahel has become a conflict zone. This website communicates about the role of popular networks, especially of people who originally are nomadic pastoralists, in warfare and conflict. These networks are both in the physical and digital space. We discover this world through ethnographic and computational methods. ⇢ read more
Nomade Sahel
Nomadesahel stands for various aspects of this research project. It refers to the main groups with whom we work in this project: the Fulani. It refers to the methodology that we adopt: Networks in context; and it refers to ourselves as researchers, travelers. ⇢ read more
Stories
Projects
Violent conflict is on the increase in the Sahel since 2012, coinciding with the increased use of Social Media in the region. The organisation of networks and their information flows are changing, and this project studies the conflict as a digitally and physically networked one. Cultural violence—the legitimation of violence—spreads through (trans)regional networks, and discursive and ‘real’ warfare become entangled. This interdisciplinary study focuses on (trans)national Fulani networks, combining historical-ethnographic and computational methods to understand the ‘workings’ of networked conflict. The project warns of possible increases in ethnic violence, resulting from digital media uses. ⇢ read more
Sub-projects