Armed Groups in the Sahel

All too often, programmes to assist in the reintegration of ex-combatants take on a national perspective, even when armed actors operate in cross-border spaces. This project conducts research on regional conflict systems as they emerge, for instance, in the Lake Chad Basin to bring the regional dimensions to the attention of practitioners and policymakers. Our field research is guided by a mixed-methods approach that includes interviews, focus group discussions and quantitative surveys at the community level. We work with local researchers in Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon who are closely involved in theresearch design and implementation. To deepen the collaboration and exchange between the project partners (African Union, United Nations, bicc) and the Sahelian research partners, we organised a mid-term residency of Sahelian researchers at bicc in Germany and short-term residencies at the United Nations in New York and the African Union in Addis Ababa. These residencies aim to facilitate exchange between project partners and local researchers, provide insights into different institutional settings and perspectives and offer networking opportunities with other researchers at bicc and beyond in Germany From our research, we shared policy recommendations that can be used by the United Nations, the African Union and other regional, national and local actors to improve regional cooperation and programming and support sustainable peace processes. The project´s research findings were disseminated through various formats and transfer activities in 2024.