Call for papers – Insecurities in the Lake Chad basin. 17th Mega-Chad colloquium in Nice (France), on June 14-15-16th, 2017

Insecurities in the Lake Chad basin

17th Mega-Chad colloquium -In Nice (France), on June 14-15-16th, 2017

Ever since the crisis in Darfur, the Boko Haram insurrection and the conflagration in the Central African Republic, the Lake Chad basin has been a focus of media and government attention. Insecurities, the theme chosen for this 17th Mega-Chad
colloquium, has become a topic that can no longer be avoided. Beyond media attention, insecurities play a major part in structuring social organizations. They either block or force change at the level of individuals, their cultures, their organizations
and their productions. The tragic events that have played out in the region demonstrate the destructive potential of violence, and yet we should not forget that these events also stimulate adaptations, resilience and resistance that can lead to innovations and new ways of coping with such situations, and to new means of facing, circumventing or overcoming them.

In  a  geographic  area  characterized  by  chronic  insecurity  over  the  long  term, weapons and the arts of war, political arenas, means of communication and ways of solving conflicts have changed over time. Outbreaks of insecurity in the present are
deeply rooted in the past. The history of the Lake Chad basin is marked by tremendous violence, an intense use of force pervading all periods of history, from the early times  of  precolonial  kingdoms  and  widespread  slavery,  through  colonization  and
world wars, and on to later independent states and rebellions against them. Even in relatively  quiet  periods,  endemic  insecurity  never  ended  but  took  various  forms: ambushes  in  rural  areas  carried  out  by  bands  of  pillagers  (rustlers  and  highwaymen),  urban  crime,  and  the  crimes  of  authoritarianism,  mediated  by  uniformed “forces  of  order”  that  play  a  dual  role  as  guarantors  of  stability  and  generators  of
political instability.

Insecurities transform social organizations by imposing themselves on everyday life.  Faced  with  the  proliferation  of  violence,  social  groups  modify  their  forms  of self-government and production, of dwelling and traveling, of exchange and communication.  Beyond  actual  acts  of  violence,  insecurities  (in  the  form  of  anxieties provoked  by  the  likelihood  of  danger)  contribute  to  the  sum  of  risks  confronting people in their daily lives, and notably unpredictabilities in production, uncertainties
regarding property, local conflicts and more proximate violence (within the family, at school,  gender  conflicts,  law  and  order,  etc.).  Research  is  needed  on  the  links between  these  insecurities  that  fuse  vulnerabilities  and  hazards  of  different  types and intensities, scales and durations. Insecurities also lead to the reconstitution of political structures. Understanding of  the  functioning  of  states  remains  central  to  the  study  of  armed  conflicts, which tending to begin as internal conflicts often take on a regional dimension, challenging the internal workings and external politics of centralized political organizations. The significance of  rhetorics and extremist actions make  religion  the second key  factor in  present  and  past  insecurities.  The  struggle  for  the  control  of  resources  by networks, bands, regional or ethnic leaders, and central authorities also sheds light on  social  frameworks and  their  transformations. The  fabric of  international  institutions and of local political arenas offers further possibilities for research on insecurities.

This  international  and  pluridisciplinary  colloquium  welcomes  contributions  on insecurities within the Lake Chad basin (Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and bordering regions of Sudan, Libya and Algeria), on  their
interconnections, and also on comparisons with neighboring areas (e.g., the African Great Lakes, Congo basin). The  impacts of  these  conflicts and  the ways  they are perceived and represented elsewhere in the wider world are also suitable topics.

Proposals should be sent to: colloque.megatchad.insecurites@gmail.com

Deadline: 20 december 2016.

Please indicate your name, e-mail, status, university
or  other  institution,  phone  number  and  postal
address,  title  of  paper,  abstract  (maximum  400
words) and keywords

Read the complete call for papers.


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