Routledge Handbook of African Borderlands

Dr Olivier Walther is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida, United States. His research focuses on cross-border trade and transnational armed conflicts in Africa.Dr Inocent Moyo is SARCHi Research Chair in Borders and the African Continental Free Trade Area and Full Professor at the University of Zululand, South Africa. He researches borders, migration, and the political economy of the informal economy in the Southern African region.Dr Isabella Soi is Associate Professor of African Studies at the Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. Her research focuses on border issues, refugee movements, and religious and national minorities in Africa, particularly in Uganda.

• SECTION 1 Concepts and methods 1 An introduction to African borderlands 2 History and historiography of African borderlands studies 3 Mapping African borderlands 4 Doing ethnography in African borderlands 5 Quantifying cross-border trade in Africa 6 African borderlands as resources SECTION 2 Borderlands in African history 7 Colonial partition in Africa 8 Myth of border formation in colonial Africa 9 Making African borders from below 10 Borders and urbanisation in colonial Africa 11 Maritime borders in Africa SECTION 3 Economic perspectives 12 Regional economic integration in Africa 13 Informal cross-border trade in Africa 14 Smuggling and trafficking in Africa 15 Border markets in Africa 16 Border cities in Africa 17 Agro-pastoralists in African borderlands SECTION 4 Political issues 18 Secessionism and irredentism in Africa 19 Post-colonial African border disputes 20 Transnational violence and terrorism in Africa 21 African borderland violence in comparative perspective 22 Border technologies, mobility, and trade facilitation in Africa SECTION 5 Social perspectives 23 Contemporary migration in Africa 24 Health, HIV/AIDS, and pandemic in African borderlands 25 Gendered dynamics in African borderlands Stephanie Cawood and Munyaradzi Mushonga 26 Border festivals in Africa 27 Climate mobilities and adaptation in African borderlands SECTION 6 Policy perspectives 28 The African Union perspective on border governance: policy and practices 29 OECD/SWAC’s support to cross-border cooperation in West Africa 30 Switzerland’s contribution to promoting cross-border cooperation in West Africa Index

“This superb book provides essays by the most impressive collection of borderland studies scholars imaginable, both established and up-and-coming authors. The historical, economic, political and societal dimensions of borders are all carefully and insightfully analyzed. Particularly insightful are the new contributions on the making of African boundaries, the contemporary political effects of borders, and issues like smuggling, trade, urbanization and migration. There is no equivalent repository of knowledge on African borderlands anywhere else. A brilliant volume, indispensable for research and for teaching.”Pierre Englebert, Professor, Pomona College, USA.“A timely and comprehensive guide to African borderlands. A must-read if you are interested in challenging orthodoxies about colonial borders and keen to leverage the ambivalence of non-statist concepts and practices. This handbook’s novel approach sets the agenda for a new era in border studies.”Heidi Hudson, Professor, University of the Free State, South Africa.“This edited volume on African borderlands brings together an impressive range of topics from a rich interdisciplinary perspective. It is an essential collection for anyone engaged in the study of African borders, whether scholars, practitioners, or policy-makers. It will serve as a key reference work on African borderlands for years to come.”Gillian Mathys, Professor, Ghent University, Belgium.“This handbook examines Africa’s borders from partition to the present, analysing their impacts on borderlands through a transdisciplinary lens. Moving beyond history and geography, it integrates socio-economic, political, and gender perspectives, foregrounding borders as living, dynamic processes while offering conceptual clarity and methodological guidance for holistic research across African borderlands”.Samuel Okunade, Doctor, Bowen University, Nigeria.