Securing and stabilising borders in North and West Africa

The document examines the shortcomings of current border security reforms in North and West Africa, noting that they often ignore the unique needs of borderland communities and the complexity of overlapping security mandates. It recommends a shift toward community consultation, the reduction of military roles in favour of law enforcement, and increased cross-border cooperation between neighbouring states.

• Regional governments in North and West Africa increasingly view frontiers as sources of threat and vulnerability, leading to a 'thickening' of borders through increased surveillance and security sector stabilisation (SSS) and security sector reform (SSR) programmes.
• Between 2014 and 2020, at least 489 border projects were funded across North Africa (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia) and West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d‘Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo).
• Current SSS and SSR initiatives are typically designed at the national level and fail to account for the specificities of borderlands, where transnational mobility and informal commerce are often essential to local stability and livelihoods.
• Border security is characterised by 'security pluralism,' where multiple law enforcement and military agencies with overlapping mandates operate in the same space, sometimes leading to competition for control or illicit rents.
• There is a concerning trend of using military units for frontline border tasks, such as arresting low-level migrants and smugglers, which can blur civil-military distinctions and increase tensions with local populations.
• Cross-border cooperation varies significantly by region; while Mali and Senegal engage in routine joint patrolling, political tensions between Algeria and Morocco preclude most engagement beyond counter-terrorism.
• Donor-funded projects in North and West Africa lack a multilateral focus, with only 32% of projects covering two or more countries.

APA

Herbert, M. (2020). Securing and stabilising borders in North and West Africa. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pb155_2.pdf

Chicago

Herbert, Matt. Securing and stabilising borders in North and West Africa. Institute for Security Studies, 2020. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pb155_2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Herbert |first1=Matt |title=Securing and stabilising borders in North and West Africa |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2020 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pb155_2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{herbert2020securing, author = {Herbert, Matt}, title = {{Securing and stabilising borders in North and West Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2020}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pb155_2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }