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Political instability in the Sahel is increasing and many observers point at the role of nomadic pastoralists in the various political and jihadist movements. Nomadic populations of the Sahel face changes that seem strongly linked to the dynamics of the state in West Africa as the latter evolved from the colonial process to its current extensions. How these changes affect nomadic populations must be identified and understood. The task, however, is not to provide a holistic analysis of these shifts; it is to describe the ways that pastoral associations perceive and analyse these questions in their activist work – thus providing an understanding of their strategies, actions, and areas of interventions in the face of change. This approach immerses us in the discourse on collective action, as it operates in a nomadic environment. The ultimate goal is to understand the contours of social change in today’s Sahel.

Chair: Prof. Mirjam de Bruijn, ASCL