Jesper Bjarnesen
@jesperbjarnesen.bsky.social
Senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute working on labour mobilities, displacement, urban informalities, street protests in Sahel, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi. Also interested in AU, EU and Nordic migration policies and politics.
I have co-written a short analysis for anyone interested: theconversation.com/cote-divoire...
Côte d'Ivoire’s elections have already been decided: Ouattara will win and democracy will lose
Regardless of the legal reasoning and outcomes, President Alassane Ouattara’s fourth-term bid is a loss for democracy in Côte d'Ivoire.
theconversation.com
October 25, 2025 at 9:24 AM
I have co-written a short analysis for anyone interested: theconversation.com/cote-divoire...
Even worse: it’s his fourth term. And the two main opposition candidates have been barred from running.
October 25, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Even worse: it’s his fourth term. And the two main opposition candidates have been barred from running.
In the article, we argue that despite their seemingly contrasting approaches, all three cases illustrate successful state strategies in co-opting potentially disruptive non-state actors and bolstering their own legitimacy - often at the expense of the civilian population.
August 5, 2025 at 10:19 AM
In the article, we argue that despite their seemingly contrasting approaches, all three cases illustrate successful state strategies in co-opting potentially disruptive non-state actors and bolstering their own legitimacy - often at the expense of the civilian population.
In Liberia, post-conflict demobilisation placed many ex-combatants in an ambivalent position to the authorities, with shifting governments negotiating hybrid security governance, as Mariam Bjarnesen details in her monograph: www.ugapress.org/978082036709...
Repurposed Rebels
Despite peace agreements, demobilization, and reintegration processes, the end of war does not automatically or necessarily make combatants abandon their war...
www.ugapress.org
August 5, 2025 at 10:15 AM
In Liberia, post-conflict demobilisation placed many ex-combatants in an ambivalent position to the authorities, with shifting governments negotiating hybrid security governance, as Mariam Bjarnesen details in her monograph: www.ugapress.org/978082036709...
In Burkina Faso, on the other hand, the military government passed a law to formalise the role of vigilante groups in order to bolster their fight against the Sahelian jihadist insurgency. @pmfrowd.bsky.social has written lucidly about this: academic.oup.com/afraf/articl...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
August 5, 2025 at 10:11 AM
In Burkina Faso, on the other hand, the military government passed a law to formalise the role of vigilante groups in order to bolster their fight against the Sahelian jihadist insurgency. @pmfrowd.bsky.social has written lucidly about this: academic.oup.com/afraf/articl...
In Ghana, the state has officially banned political vigilante groups but they continue to operate under new names and structures, as Mariam Bjarnesen details in this article: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/35...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
August 5, 2025 at 10:07 AM
In Ghana, the state has officially banned political vigilante groups but they continue to operate under new names and structures, as Mariam Bjarnesen details in this article: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/35...