Editorial leadership and drafting:
Marie Trémolières
Editing:
Arianna Ingle, Lia Beyeler, Jennifer Sheahan
Layout:
Luminess
This work is carried out under the memorandum of understanding between OECD/SWAC and the University of Florida Sahel Research Group.
Olivier J. Walther, Ph.D., provided scientific direction and co-ordinated the mapping, analysis and drafting of the report. Dr Walther is an Associate Professor in Geography at the University of Florida (UF) and a consultant for OECD/SWAC. His current research focuses on cross-border trade and transnational political violence in West Africa. Dr Walther is an Associate Editor of Political Geography and a “chief” of the African Borderlands Research Network. He leads the UF African Networks Lab and is a faculty member of the UF Sahel Research Group. Over the last ten years, he has served as a lead investigator or partner on externally funded research projects from the OECD, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the United Nations. E-mail: owalther@ufl.edu
Steven M. Radil, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Geosciences at the United States Air Force Academy. Dr Radil is a political geographer and primarily researches the spatial dimensions of political violence in the international system, including civil war, insurgency and terrorism. In Africa, he has previously published on the diffusion of the internationalised civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and on the territorial ambitions of Islamist-inspired insurgencies. He has methodological expertise in spatial analysis, social network analysis, and geographic information science (GIS) and routinely uses these tools in his work. E-mail: steven.radil@afacademy.af.edu
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force Academy, United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States Government.
Other contributors
Diep Dao, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado—Colorado Springs. Dr Dao’s research aims to advance methods for representing and analysing geographic information and to bring insights made possible through these methods for applications in social science, particularly the geography of transportation, geography of crime and violence, geography of health, urban planning, and urban regional analysis. E-mail: tdao@uccs.edu.
David G. Russell is a PhD student in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida (UF). Prior to joining UF, Mr. Russell was a Senior Research Specialist with the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University. He holds an MSc in Geography from the University of Idaho and a BA in History from Middlebury College. His research focuses on quantifying the spatio-temporal patterns of political violence and on how geopolitical rhetoric shapes the ways people see the world and its history. Email: david.russell@ufl.edu
Alexander Thurston, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. His research focuses on Islam and politics in northwest Africa, especially in Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Morocco. He has held fellowships with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Wilson Center, and the American Council of Learned Societies. His most recent book is Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel: Local Politics and Rebel Groups (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Email: thurstar@ucmail.uc.edu
Will French is a Cadet First Class at the United States Air Force Academy. As a geospatial science major and space warfighting minor, Cadet French has taken part in numerous research projects surrounding GIS. Cadet French will commission as an Air Force officer upon graduation. Email: c25will.french@afacademy.af.edu
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force Academy, United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States Government.
The team also wishes to thank the following individuals for their contribution to the writing of this report: Brilé Anderson, OECD/SWAC; Leonardo A. Villalón and Lacey Harris-Coble, University of Florida; Clionadh Raleigh, University of Sussex; Roudabeh Kishi, Princeton University; Juliet Delate Iler, ACLED; Rafael Prieto-Curiel, Complexity Science Hub; Abdul Zanya Salifu, University of Calgary; Eliasu Tanko, independent journalist; Armelle Choplin, University of Geneva; Jérôme Lombard, Institute of Research for Development; Olivier Ninot, University of Paris 1; Edward Oughton, George Mason University; Denis Retaillé, Bordeaux Montaigne University; Geoff D. Porter, North Africa Risk Consulting; Carl Müller-Crepon, London School of Economics and Political Science; Moustapha Koné, University of Niamey; Nora Mareï, French National Centre for Scientific Research; Thomas Hüsken, University of Bayreuth and Anouar Boukhars, National Defense University. A special mention goes to Sibiri Jean Zoundi, former Acting Director of the Sahel and West Africa Club, whose thoughtful comments and views enriched this work.