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Department of Geography College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

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In the Sahel and Iran, chokepoints are essential instruments of power

In the Sahel and Iran, chokepoints are essential instruments of power

Monday June 1, 2026

Control over infrastructure has become a key factor in armed conflicts. In the West African Sahel as in the Persian Gulf, political power depends on the ability to control flows rather than territories. The Strait of Hormuz’s strategic significance, like that of the Sahelian road network, accumulated through decades of global energy infrastructure. Today, those […]
Mapping African Borderlands Studies

Mapping African Borderlands Studies

Tuesday May 19, 2026

Mapping African Borderlands Studies A bibliometric analysis of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of African Borderlands shows that the field is highly fragmented, with over 90% of references cited only once and only a small core of widely shared works. By Olivier Walther, 5/19/2026. A new handbook At the end of June, Routledge will publish our […]
Insurgent mobility and state fortification in West Africa

Insurgent mobility and state fortification in West Africa

Wednesday May 6, 2026

Conflict in West Africa is shaped by a struggle between mobile insurgents and states whose power depends on territorial control. While insurgents exploit speed and rural fluidity to expand their reach, states retreat into fortified towns and military enclaves. Mobile space theory can help explain this recurring spatial pattern. By Olivier Walther, 5/6/2026. The fortification […]
The resurgence of fortified landscapes in West Africa

The resurgence of fortified landscapes in West Africa

Monday April 27, 2026

West African states respond to insurgencies by building city walls and fortifying borders. These initiatives aimed at controlling the movement of jihadist groups are a double-edged sword. While they provide short-term protection, they can also deepen rural insecurity and civilian vulnerability. By Olivier Walther and Steven M. Radil, 4/28/2026. The new fortresses In August 2024, militants […]
CFP AAG 2026 – Geography of trade

CFP AAG 2026 – Geography of trade

Friday September 19, 2025

American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, San Francisco, March 17-21, 2026 Paper session organized by Lacey Harris-Coble, University of Florida, and Amalie Ravn Weinrich, University of Copenhagen Abstract Trade cuts across economic, political, cultural, and environmental geographies, yet it is not often given attention as a standalone topic. The geography of trade examines how […]
CFP AAG 2026 – Geography and civil war

CFP AAG 2026 – Geography and civil war

Friday September 5, 2025

American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, San Francisco, March 17-21, 2026 Paper session organized by Olivier J. Walther and David G. Russell, University of Florida Abstract The goal of this paper session is to examine how space shapes civil wars. We are particularly interested in understanding which local determinants explain the onset of political […]
Defending our turf

Defending our turf

Saturday August 23, 2025

After a decade spent carving out a niche in conflict studies, the time has come to defend it. Since the mid-2010s, my Lab has documented the geography of violence in Africa. To track the spatial evolution of armed conflicts, we have developed a unique indicator that measures both the intensity and spatial concentration of violence. […]
Violence is not fueled by a lack of food in West Africa

Violence is not fueled by a lack of food in West Africa

Monday August 11, 2025

The number of violent events recorded in the last decade in West Africa is either independent of agricultural seasonality or increases with the abundance of resources. The lack of seasonality in West African conflicts suggests that political violence does not have a direct link with environmental factors. Instead, the story of hunger is one of […]
Food insecurity and conflict go hand in hand in West Africa

Food insecurity and conflict go hand in hand in West Africa

Friday August 8, 2025

Subnational data reveal a very strong link between food and political insecurity in West Africa. Regions subject to food insecurity are not only prone to more violence, but conflict is more concentrated spatially than in other regions. More food insecurity in conflict regions This correspondence is particularly evident when disaggregated food security data is superimposed […]
When spatial analysis aspired to unite geography

When spatial analysis aspired to unite geography

Tuesday April 29, 2025

Spatial analysts thought they could unite geography around a few spatial features. Their failure should not obscure the enthusiasm that reigned in the discipline some 60 years ago. The trilogy of spatial analysis Geographers have long argued that space could be represented on a map by a combination of three fundamental features: points, lines, and […]
The historical roots of a conflict indicator

The historical roots of a conflict indicator

Thursday April 10, 2025

Scientific progress is rarely linear. Some ideas go out of fashion, only to reappear in a new guise later. Economic geographers know all about this, having seen their concepts of central places, regions, and cities suddenly revived by the New Economic Geography in the 1990s. I had a similar adventure in my work on conflict. […]
What can geographers learn from network science?

What can geographers learn from network science?

Thursday April 3, 2025

Growing interest in the study of networks is an opportunity to question the very nature of geographic space, the most fundamental yet least well-defined concept in our discipline. Networks in geography Networks are all the rage in geography. In recent years, a growing number of geographers have been seeking to better understand the relationships between […]
What I learned from my PhD supervisor’s network

What I learned from my PhD supervisor’s network

Monday March 24, 2025

In the past 25 years, French Professor Denis Retaillé was involved in the supervision of 39 graduate students. In 2006, I became one of them after completing a joint dissertation between the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and the University of Rouen in France. During my professional career, I have often wondered who else had […]
Regionalism is at risk in West Africa

Regionalism is at risk in West Africa

Thursday February 20, 2025

The creation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in 2023 is the most recent manifestation of a long process of political fragmentation in West Africa. These regional transformations are fueled by a more global rejection of Western-inspired integration models. By Olivier Walther, 2/18/2025 A laboratory for integration West Africa […]
Proximity to roads shapes patterns of violence in North and West Africa

Proximity to roads shapes patterns of violence in North and West Africa

Tuesday February 18, 2025

Transport infrastructure is critical in armed conflicts. A dense infrastructure network allows states to provide services to the civilian population and defeat insurgents in a timely manner. Yet, transport infrastructure itself can also become a major target for rebels and violent extremists. This new OECD report examines how the competition for the control of transport […]
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