Securing and stabilising borders in North and West Africa

Securing border areas is very different from other parts of a country and needs tailored security sector reform programming.

Since the 2011 revolutions in Tunisia and Libya and the start of Mali’s internal conflict in 2012, states in North and West Africa have focused on building up their border security architecture. Locally led and donor funded border stabilisation and reform are generally undertaken as part of national reforms. Although such programmes are necessary, they rarely provide the tailored approach needed to deal with unique frontier issues.

About the author

Dr Matt Herbert is the research manager for the North Africa and Sahel Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and a Senior Research Consultant at the Institute for Security Studies. He holds a PhD from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.