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Borders, resources, and transboundary spaces in the Africas - Conflicts and cooperation in a context of environmental change

Call for papers for a thematic issue

Deadline for submission of articles: June 30, 2023 (inclusive)

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Coordination

KEYWORDS

Transboundary, borders, resources, Africas, environmental changes, conflicts, cooperation

Argumentation

  • 1 We have chosen to use the plural to reflect the diversity of contexts and situations that concern t (...)
  • 2 The program of this congress is available here: https://www.ugiparis2022.org/index.php?langue=fr (...)
  • 3 This is the 6th report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) produced by Working (...)

This issue focuses on the issues of conflicts and cooperation around resources and transboundary spaces in the Africas1. It follows the session on the same theme that was organized during the International Geographical Union (IGU) Centennial Congress in Paris between July 18 and 22, 20222. The multiple environmental changes that vary in time and space (climate change, loss of biodiversity, scarcity of resources, etc.), and which already concern a large part of the African continent (Pörtner and Roberts, 20223), are not without questioning the future of borders and the place that transboundary spaces can occupy. Among the major current issues at the scale of transboundary spaces in the Africas are the management and sharing of resources (such as surface or underground water, hydrocarbons, forests, etc.) or the adoption of common policies in terms of environmental and biodiversity preservation.

  • 4 It should be noted that of the seven articles in the issue, four focus specifically on African case (...)

Borders are emerging as important objects of study in the social sciences and in particular geography, to the point of structuring a field of research in its own right: border studies (Kolossov and Scott, 2013). This issue is at the crossroads of geopolitics and border studies by proposing an articulation between borders, resources and transboundary spaces on the scale of the African continent. In a context of globalization and intensification of flows and exchanges that has increasingly affected African territories over the past decades, we are witnessing a multiplication of phenomena that cross international borders and are likely to alter or recompose them within so-called transboundary spaces. These processes are all the more important when they are linked to issues of location and resource sharing. Several studies have looked at the question of resources in the context of globalization, particularly from the point of view of conflict, such as the issue of Ecologie & Politique published in 2007 on "Globalization and conflicts over natural resources"4 (Serfati and Le Billon, 2007). To complement these approaches, it seems useful to us not to focus solely on conflicts, but also to take into account cases of cooperation, by considering a form of gradient that can vary in time and space between situations of conflict and cooperation around resources and transboundary spaces on a continental (African) scale.

  • 5 The World Trade Organization (WTO) proposes to define natural resources as: "stocks of materials in (...)

The term resources will be understood in a broad way in order to allow for a multiplicity of case studies and to take into account the diversity and complexity of the associated issues5. The focus here will be on the relationship of resources to space and territories in their transboundary dimension.

To look at borders and space through the prism of resources, it is useful to mobilize political ecology, if we refer to the definition proposed by Robert Fletcher: "the study of peace and conflict, with an emphasis on the role of inequality in access to wealth and to the natural resources on which this wealth is based; this question of inequality being analyzed as one of the main drivers of the interdependent dynamics between human tensions and ecological degradation" (Fletcher, 2010).

The subject also invites the analysis of a variety of case studies through the place and role that international borders can play, but also the actors involved at different scales (from local to global, national and regional). One of the theoretical and definitional challenges of the issue is also to better understand the nuances and contours of the transboundary (which emphasizes the crossing of the border and its implications at different scales) compared to the transnational (crossing and linking of nations that may involve other scales and other actors).

  • 6 We refer here to the neologism proposed by Michel Foucher to refer to the birth of borders (Foucher (...)

For this issue, we invite contributions to conduct a dialectical analysis to understand the extent to which the presence of resources may have contributed to territorialization and horogenesis6 in the Africas, and in turn, how the presence of borders may condition or limit the use and sharing of resources among a diversity of actors at multiple scales.

We will propose a set of questions that can guide reflection on the links between borders, resources and transboundary spaces: what are the main issues of localization and sharing of resources in relation to borders? To what extent can environmental changes accelerate or modify situations of conflict or cooperation on the scale of African transboundary spaces?

The papers will be able to address these issues from the following axes.

Axis 1: Specificity of African borders, colonial legacies, regional integrations

It may be useful to return to the history and specificities of African borders, largely inherited, in their current forms, from the colonial period; then to the more recent history of forms of transboundary cooperation and regional integration. One may ask to what extent the colonial delineation of African borders has induced a certain sharing of resources at the level of the continent, and how this can explain, at least partially, the existence of border disputes.

The contributions can also broaden the debate by questioning the state and future of transboundary cooperation in the Africas, but also the possible interference of foreign powers (States or multinationals) in a context of global changes and pressure on resources.

Axis 2: Global environmental changes and management of transboundary resources and transboundary spaces

In order to question the links between shared resources and transboundary spaces in the Africas, the contributions can choose to develop a particular case of cooperation or conflict, around a resource or a transboundary space. It is important here to emphasize the processes and dynamics specific to the cases studied. Two main cases can be analyzed: a situation where resources are present in transboundary spaces and give rise to various forms of cooperation and/or conflict; and another situation where the resources themselves are transboundary (this is the case in particular of a mobile resource such as river water), which then leads to an interest in the effects on the space, in terms of uses, development, policies, etc.

Finally, the contributions are led to take into account the effects of environmental changes and to analyze to what extent this can strengthen cooperation or exacerbate tensions around resources and transboundary spaces.

Recommendations, submission procedure and contacts

The proposed articles must comply with the publication standards of L'Espace Politique [On line http://espacepolitique.revues.org/1302]. Contributions of articles in French or English will be subject to a double-blind peer review process.

We invite contributors interested in this issue to send a short summary of their article proposal to Hugo Mazzero (hugo.mazzero@u-bordeaux-montaigne.fr) and Leila Oulkebous (leila.oulkebous@u-bordeaux-montaigne.fr)

Deadline for submission of complete articles: June 30, 2023

Bibliographie

de Koning, R. et Mbaga, J. (2007). Conflits pour les ressources naturelles de la péninsule de Bakassi : du global au local. Écologie & politique, 34(1), 93‑103. https://doi.org/10.3917/ecopo.034.0093

Diapol, E. et Environmental Development Action in the Third World (dir.). (2007). Les dynamiques transfrontalières en Afrique de l’Ouest: analyse des potentiels d’intégration de trois « pays-frontières » en Afrique de l’Ouest. Karthala [u.a.].

Fairhead, J., Leach, M. et Scoones, I. (2012). Green Grabbing: a new appropriation of nature? Journal of Peasant Studies, 39(2), 237‑261. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2012.671770

Fletcher, R. (2010). When environmental issues collide: climate change and the shifting political ecology of hydroelectric Power. Peace Conflict Rev., 5, 1‑15.

Foucher, M. (2014). Frontières d’Afrique. C.N.R.S. Editions. https://doi.org/10.3917/cnrs.fouc.2014.01

Guy Caubet, C. (2007). Dimensions ultralibérales de la conquête de l’eau : intérêts géopolitiques et carences juridiques internationales. Écologie & politique, 34(1), 43‑55. https://doi.org/10.3917/ecopo.034.0043

Kolossov V. et Scott J. (2013), « Selected conceptual issues in border studies », Belgeo, 1. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/10532 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/belgeo.10532

Le Billon, P. et Hocquard, C. (2007). Filières industrielles et conflits armés : le cas du tantale dans la région des Grands Lacs. Écologie & politique, 34(1), 83‑92. https://doi.org/10.3917/ecopo.034.0083

Lefebvre, C. (2015). Frontières de sable, frontières de papier : Histoire de territoires et de frontières, du jihad de Sokoto à la colonisation française du Niger, xixe-xxe siècles. Frontières de sable, frontières de papier : Histoire de territoires et de frontières, du jihad de Sokoto à la colonisation française du Niger, xixe-xxe siècles. Éditions de la Sorbonne. http://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/36501

Maupin, A. (2011). Le bassin transfrontalier du fleuve Zambèze en Afrique australe: des eaux conflictuelles? Les Cahiers d’Outre-Mer, n° 255(3), 377‑398.

Mérenne-Schoumaker, B., Levasseur, C. et Chalmin, P. (2020). Atlas mondial des matières premières (3e édition). Éditions Autrement.

Messe Mbega, C.-Y. (2015). Les régions transfrontalières: un exemple d’intégration sociospatiale de la population en Afrique centrale ? Éthique publique. Revue internationale d’éthique sociétale et gouvernementale, 17(vol. 17, n° 1). https://doi.org/10.4000/ethiquepublique.1724

Milgroom, J., Giller, K. E. et Leeuwis, C. (2014). Three Interwoven Dimensions of Natural Resource Use: Quantity, Quality and Access in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. Human Ecology, 42(2), 199‑215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9635-3

Nations Unies. Commission Economique pour l’Afrique. (2018). Différends liés aux ressources naturelles transfrontalières en Afrique: politiques, institutions et expériences de gestion:résumé analytique. https://repository.uneca.org/handle/10855/24472

Ntuda Ebode, J. V., Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (Cameroon), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung et CREPS (Centre de recherche d’études politiques et stratégiques : Cameroon) (dir.). (2011). La gestion coopérative des ressources transfrontalières en Afrique centrale: quelques leçons pour l’intégration régionale. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

OMC. (2010). Rapport sur le commerce mondial 2010. Le commerce des ressources naturelles. OMC. https://www.wto.org/french/res_f/booksp_f/anrep_f/world_trade_report10_f.pdf

Pörtner, H.-O. et Roberts, D. C. (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Serfati, C. et Le Billon, P. (2007). Guerres pour les ressources : une face visible de la mondialisation. Écologie & politique, 34(1), 15‑31. https://doi.org/10.3917/ecopo.034.0015

Stöhr, A. (2020). Stratégie de l’Union africaine pour une meilleure gouvernance intégrée des frontières. Commission de l’Union Africaine/ Département Paix et Sécurité.

Vandeburie, J. (2007). Le rôle de l’État dans la genèse des conflits liés aux ressources naturelles : le cas du Congo-Zaïre. Écologie & politique, 34(1), 57‑68. https://doi.org/10.3917/ecopo.034.0057

Walther, O. (2017, 12 juin). Les réseaux de la coopération transfrontalière en Afrique de l’Ouest (6) [Notes ouest-africaines]. OCDE. https://doi.org/10.1787/b7ad4957-fr

Walther, O. (2019, 20 novembre). Frontières, sécurité et développement en Afrique de l’Ouest (26) [Notes ouest-africaines]. https://doi.org/10.1787/74a9db76-fr

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Notes

1 We have chosen to use the plural to reflect the diversity of contexts and situations that concern this continent, and to avoid an essentialization that could appear simplistic.

2 The program of this congress is available here: https://www.ugiparis2022.org/index.php?langue=fr&onglet=48&acces=&idUser=&emailUser=&messageConfirmation=

3 This is the 6th report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) produced by Working Group 2 on "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability", we refer to the chapters that specifically concern the African continent.

4 It should be noted that of the seven articles in the issue, four focus specifically on African case studies.

5 The World Trade Organization (WTO) proposes to define natural resources as: "stocks of materials in the natural environment that are both scarce and economically useful for production or consumption, either in their raw state or after minimal processing" (WTO, 2010). This definition can be complemented with that of geographer Bernadette Mérenne-Schoumaker, who defines natural resources as "mineral or biological resources vital to human beings and their economic activities; a distinction is made between non-renewable resources (mineral raw materials and fossil fuels) and renewable resources (water, soil, biological resources such as forests, marine fisheries, animal and plant species; air is sometimes included)" (Mérenne-Schoumaker et al., 2020).

6 We refer here to the neologism proposed by Michel Foucher to refer to the birth of borders (Foucher, 2014).

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