Non-State Armed Groups and Illicit Economies in West Africa: How Armed Groups Build and Degrade Legitimacy Through Their Engagement With Illicit Economies

About this Talk

This session will explore how armed groups in West and Central Africa draw revenue, resources, and legitimacy through their engagement with (il)licit economies. As greater focus in research to date has been given to the question of armed group financing, this session will instead focus on the how armed groups build, or degrade, legitimacy in their interactions with illicit economies. It will consider how the characteristics of different illicit economies - including artisanal gold mining, kidnapping, and logging - shape armed groups' relationship with communities.

Roundtable Non-state armed groups

About The Speakers

Lucia Bird

Director, Observatory of Illicit Economies in West Africa, The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Director of the West Africa Observatory, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Mouhamadou Kane

Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Dr. Ladd Serwat

Africa Regional Specialist, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED)

Africa Regional Specialist, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED)

Lawan Adamu

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Non-State Armed Groups and Illicit Economies in West Africa: How Armed Groups Build and Degrade Legitimacy Through Their Engagement With Illicit Economies

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About this Talk

About The Speakers

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