Policing Illicit Flows in West Africa

Policing Illicit Flows in West Africa is an expert workshop at the University of York on the governance of illicit flows in West Africa. The workshop brings together scholars and practitioners on flows ranging from migration, drugs, arms, finance, ideas, and more. These have been the subject of some research to date across the social sciences. The workshop enquires as to the politics and practices that arise in attempts to police these flows: how these issues are framed and responded to, and what types of social relationships, habits, and institutions arise.

The purpose of this workshop is to bring together a range of contributions on these issues from a variety of theoretical and empirical perspectives. Our end goal is to scope and develop future research and collaborative opportunities.

Contributors from across the disciplines will emphasize

• The histories of illicit flows
• New forms of local and international governance arising
• Interlinkages between flows and between licit/illicit
• Dynamics of securitization and criminalization
• The ‘nexus’ between crime, terrorism, and political instability

Speakers from across Europe, West Africa and North America include academics and practitioners with great insight and research experience in the subregion, including Etannibi Alemika (CLEEN, Jos), Mark Shaw (Global Initiative, UCT), Judith Vorrath (SWP Berlin), Morten Boas (NUPI).

The workshop will take place over one and a half days. The first day will include much of the research presentations and collective discussion, and the second day a focused exploration of potential avenues and concrete funding/publication avenues.

For further information and to take part in the workshop, please contact: Gernot Klantschnig (gernot.klantschnig@york.ac.uk) and Philippe M. Frowd (p.m.frowd@york.ac.uk).