James Courtright
@jamescourtright08.bsky.social
Pastoralism, natural resource management and conflict in West Africa / Clingendael Research Associate / ex ICWA fellow & Gambia transitional justice / Kolda haa mayde
And the full report, co-authored with Kars de Bruijne, for @clingendael.bsky.social here:
www.clingendael.org/publication/...
www.clingendael.org/publication/...
Cattle Wahala
This study finds that rustled cattle from the Sahel ends up in Ghana, where insurgents increasingly rely on trusted intermediaries, such as butchers and traders, to sell livestock into Ghana’s licit m...
www.clingendael.org
July 24, 2025 at 11:42 AM
And the full report, co-authored with Kars de Bruijne, for @clingendael.bsky.social here:
www.clingendael.org/publication/...
www.clingendael.org/publication/...
Read the @newhumanitarian.bsky.social piece here: www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/202...
How stolen cattle links Ghana to the jihadist conflict in the Sahel
Cattle rustling is a profitable revenue stream for insurgents and threatens the stability of the West African region.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org
July 24, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Read the @newhumanitarian.bsky.social piece here: www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/202...
In the longer term, we argue that targeted and realistic investments in Ghana’s domestic rearing and market system may help deter rustling and smuggling and contribute to national development.
July 24, 2025 at 11:40 AM
In the longer term, we argue that targeted and realistic investments in Ghana’s domestic rearing and market system may help deter rustling and smuggling and contribute to national development.
Enhancing cross-border coordination, on a national and local level, as well as investigating and prosecuting Ghanaian butchers and merchants selling stolen livestock, could help disrupt JNIM supply chains in the shorter term.
July 24, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Enhancing cross-border coordination, on a national and local level, as well as investigating and prosecuting Ghanaian butchers and merchants selling stolen livestock, could help disrupt JNIM supply chains in the shorter term.
While these Ghanaian cattle merchants who sell stolen livestock are not directly linked to JNIM militants, they are an important part of a larger system that is fueling conflict in Burkina Faso and Togo, and contributing to instability in northern Ghana.
July 24, 2025 at 11:39 AM
While these Ghanaian cattle merchants who sell stolen livestock are not directly linked to JNIM militants, they are an important part of a larger system that is fueling conflict in Burkina Faso and Togo, and contributing to instability in northern Ghana.
We found that evolving conflict dynamics in south east Burkina Faso have forced JNIM to rely on a smaller group of butchers and merchants to sell stolen livestock, which has led to the rise of a new group of intermediaries further down the supply chain in Ghana.
July 24, 2025 at 11:39 AM
We found that evolving conflict dynamics in south east Burkina Faso have forced JNIM to rely on a smaller group of butchers and merchants to sell stolen livestock, which has led to the rise of a new group of intermediaries further down the supply chain in Ghana.
In the longer term, we argue that targeted and realistic investments in Ghana’s domestic cattle rearing and market system may help deter rustling and smuggling and contribute to national development.
July 24, 2025 at 10:33 AM
In the longer term, we argue that targeted and realistic investments in Ghana’s domestic cattle rearing and market system may help deter rustling and smuggling and contribute to national development.
Enhancing coordination between regional governments, on a national and local level, as well as investigating and prosecuting Ghanaian butchers and merchants selling stolen livestock, could help disrupt JNIM supply chains in the shorter term.
July 24, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Enhancing coordination between regional governments, on a national and local level, as well as investigating and prosecuting Ghanaian butchers and merchants selling stolen livestock, could help disrupt JNIM supply chains in the shorter term.
While these Ghanaian cattle merchants selling stolen livestock are not directly linked to JNIM militants, they are an important part of a larger system that is fueling conflict in Burkina Faso and Togo and contributing to instability in northern Ghana.
July 24, 2025 at 10:33 AM
While these Ghanaian cattle merchants selling stolen livestock are not directly linked to JNIM militants, they are an important part of a larger system that is fueling conflict in Burkina Faso and Togo and contributing to instability in northern Ghana.
In short, we found that shifting conflict dynamics in south east Burkina Faso have forced JNIM to rely on a smaller group of Burkinabe butchers and merchants to sell stolen livestock, which has led to the rise of a new group of intermediaries further down the supply chain in Ghana.
July 24, 2025 at 10:32 AM
In short, we found that shifting conflict dynamics in south east Burkina Faso have forced JNIM to rely on a smaller group of Burkinabe butchers and merchants to sell stolen livestock, which has led to the rise of a new group of intermediaries further down the supply chain in Ghana.
Reposted by James Courtright
4️⃣ #Fulani communities in West Africa have suffered several violent attacks in recent years - while being scapegoated for violence themselves.
The situation is deeply rooted in a crisis of #pastoralism, as @jamescourtright08.bsky.social explains in his policy brief
📃 t1p.de/s9myh
The situation is deeply rooted in a crisis of #pastoralism, as @jamescourtright08.bsky.social explains in his policy brief
📃 t1p.de/s9myh
Fulani Responses to Pastoralist Crisis and Mass Violence
Fulani communities in West Africa are being scapegoated for violence perpetrated by certain groups of semi-nomadic herders in response to a...
www.megatrends-afrika.de
May 19, 2025 at 12:11 PM
4️⃣ #Fulani communities in West Africa have suffered several violent attacks in recent years - while being scapegoated for violence themselves.
The situation is deeply rooted in a crisis of #pastoralism, as @jamescourtright08.bsky.social explains in his policy brief
📃 t1p.de/s9myh
The situation is deeply rooted in a crisis of #pastoralism, as @jamescourtright08.bsky.social explains in his policy brief
📃 t1p.de/s9myh
In the longer term, governments and their foreign partners should support pastoralist livelihoods (enforcing existing grazing areas and establishing livestock corridors) and invest in physical infrastructure and justice systems in rural communities.
February 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
In the longer term, governments and their foreign partners should support pastoralist livelihoods (enforcing existing grazing areas and establishing livestock corridors) and invest in physical infrastructure and justice systems in rural communities.
In the short term, governments should re-assess their relationship with communal militias/vigilantes and consider the potential benefits of negotiating, or at least allowing local communities to speak, with armed groups.
February 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
In the short term, governments should re-assess their relationship with communal militias/vigilantes and consider the potential benefits of negotiating, or at least allowing local communities to speak, with armed groups.
The response of communities directly affected by violence–fleeing–is ensuring immediate survival, but also potentially expands violence against Fulani into new areas.
February 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
The response of communities directly affected by violence–fleeing–is ensuring immediate survival, but also potentially expands violence against Fulani into new areas.
Taking up arms—whether alongside jihadist insurgents, bandits, or even as secular self-defense militias—has failed to protect civilians and only exacerbated the scapegoating and violence.
February 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Taking up arms—whether alongside jihadist insurgents, bandits, or even as secular self-defense militias—has failed to protect civilians and only exacerbated the scapegoating and violence.
Efforts by Fulani cultural or human rights associations to defend Fulani communities have become captured by political interests, crumbled under internal schisms, or harassed into silence by military governments.
February 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Efforts by Fulani cultural or human rights associations to defend Fulani communities have become captured by political interests, crumbled under internal schisms, or harassed into silence by military governments.
None the less, across the region communal militias, and to a lesser extent security forces, scapegoated entire Fulani communities, resulting in massacres in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria that amount to ethnic cleansing.
February 24, 2025 at 11:10 AM
None the less, across the region communal militias, and to a lesser extent security forces, scapegoated entire Fulani communities, resulting in massacres in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria that amount to ethnic cleansing.
It is important to note that while Fulani herders are over represented among Sahelian insurgents and NW Nigerian bandits, these are different groups of Fulani. Pastoralists are NOT fighting as a united ethnic movement, but in reaction to similar local conditions.
February 24, 2025 at 11:10 AM
It is important to note that while Fulani herders are over represented among Sahelian insurgents and NW Nigerian bandits, these are different groups of Fulani. Pastoralists are NOT fighting as a united ethnic movement, but in reaction to similar local conditions.
The current crisis has its roots in the long durée erosion of pastoralist livelihoods. Localized security crises beginning around 2010 ignited these deeper tensions, and people from subgroups of Fulani herders in the central Sahel and NW Nigeria joined militant groups.
February 24, 2025 at 11:10 AM
The current crisis has its roots in the long durée erosion of pastoralist livelihoods. Localized security crises beginning around 2010 ignited these deeper tensions, and people from subgroups of Fulani herders in the central Sahel and NW Nigeria joined militant groups.