University of Florida Homepage (opens in new tab)

Projects

An Atlas of Mali

Ras el Ma mapThis atlas explore the complex geography of Mali through 122 maps produced by the French National Geographic Institute (IGN) in the 1950s and 1960s. The atlas shows the variety of the Sahara and of the Sahel and the many ways in which societies have contributed to shaping these extraordinary regions.

Violence in North and West Africa

Our most recent research project examines the intensity and concentration of violent events across North and West Africa (opens in new tab). We have developed a spatial indicator (opens in new tab) of political violence that highlights which regions experience the highest rate of conflict, how these conflicts change geographically over time, and how foreign interventions affect their geography. Our first report (opens in new tab) was launched at the Munich Security Conference in 2020. Watch Dr. Walther’s presentation of the report on YouTube (opens in new tab) (30 min) or this short video in English (opens in new tab) or French (opens in new tab) (7 min), or read this paper (opens in new tab). Our second report (opens in new tab) maps the evolution of conflict networks in the region since 1997. It was launched at the Sahel Coalition in March and at the UF Sahel Research Group in May 2021. Download a summary of our talks here. More recently, we have published about the importance of borders (opens in new tab) and cities (opens in new tab) for the evolution of armed conflicts in the region.

Space and political violence

Our research (opens in new tab) explores the complex relationships (opens in new tab) that bind states, transnational rebels and extremist organizations, and borders on the African continent. Combining network science with geographical analysis, we highlight how the fluid alliances and conflicts (opens in new tab) between rebels, violent extremist organizations and states shape in large measure regional patterns of violence in Africa.

Women and trade networks

Our work highlights the crucial contribution of West African women (opens in new tab) to the region’s food and trade economy. It shows that these activities face many socio-economic and institutional barrier (opens in new tab)s that limit women’s participation in trade. The analysis of these gender inequalities is based on a relational approach that makes it possible to map the actual relations maintained between economic and political actors within their social networks.

Trade, cities and regional integration


Our research provides a systematic analysis of the role border cities (opens in new tab) play in the process of regional integration (opens in new tab) in West Africa. We have developed several indicators that shed light on urban growth, the effect of distance on national cohesion and the impact territorial divisions (opens in new tab) have on trade at the international level.

Cross-border policy networks

We have developed an original approach to study cross-border co-operation (opens in new tab) in West Africa. Building on a combination of statistical indicators, mental maps and social network analysis, our work has contributed to visualize the formal and informal relationships between actors involved in cross-border policy networks in the region.