Who are Northwest Nigeria’s bandits and what are we to make of them? @jh_barnett & myself travelled to the epicenter of the banditry crisis to find answers. In this thread, we explore who these bandits are, what drives them, and why are they so hard to defeat. (1/n)

Myanmar 🇲🇲 MAP UPDATE: The situation in Myanmar as of 01/11/2025. The month of October was one of several setbacks for the resistance. After losing control of Kyaukme and Hsipaw the TNLA agreed to a ceasefire with the junta, abandoning the towns of Mogok and Momeik. Local PDF

Although the article drips with AI syntax, the point is exciting: are urban African youth protests signaling a rejection of the state system and its pathologies rather than a bid for inclusion?

Check out our interactive feature on the spatial logic of banditry in northwest Nigeria--visual storytelling based on a combination of remote sensing, historical mapping, and rigorous field-based data collection

Interesting #postdoc opportunity "Postdoctoral Fellow in the Political Economy of African Critical Minerals" #DRC

How do Nigeria's bandits operate and what drives them? Check out this cool interactive feature by @pkfranz based on our research: https://t.co/SsYXYUvwxK

Al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM has spent years accumulating power. But the fuel blockade in Mali marks its most significant show of strength yet. A thread with observations on the ground from Bamako – where lines at gas stations like these ones have become commonplace (from last week)

Looks fun

This should infuse some much needed intellectual history into the study of rebel governance! Curious if Congo's militia make it into the book, they'd be a great case

La ferme d’un élégant Fulbe avec murs d’enceinte, maison d’entrée et cabane à toit conique, Tabati Cameroun 1934-1938

Trade barriers have gone from 0 to a widespread tactic in international politics--not just by nation states but also by their detractors (jihadi group is successfully blocking fuel from reaching the Wagner backed Bamako regime in Mali)

Again a wonderful piece by @rhaplord on the parliamentary systems and councils keeping centralized power in check in precolonial Africa. In fact most chieftaincies also had councils limiting rule by one; still today visiting a Congolese chief you meet half the village.

RSF completes construction of their encirclement of the massive city Al Fasher in Darfur, Sudan. How is it possible we are witnessing this in our time?

Todos lo que tenemos que decir sobre el 12 de octubre está en estas eruditas 1.500 páginas de @CharlesCMann.

Alhamdulillah! Over recent months, I’ve monitored 939 under-reported security incidents across Katsina, Sokoto & Zamfara State, analyzing trends impacting civilian safety, humanitarian access & community resilience. My findings covering Jan–Sept 2025 are now compiled and ready.

📕Le 22 octobre en librairie 📕James C. Scott, Les Armes des faibles Formes quotidiennes de la résistance paysanne • Traduit de l’anglais (États-Unis) par Olivier Ruchet avec la collaboration de Christophe Jaquet • Collection Critique de la politique 📖 Ayant passé deux ans

UPDATED: the Cartography of Genocide platform shows atrocity by atrocity the way Israel destroyed of ALL aspects of Palestinian life in Gaza. We will keep monitoring. The genocide does not just end with ceasefire. It continues as long as conditions of life are not restored.

Interesting one indeed, seemingly going against the deterritorialized interpretation foregrounding only "wealth in people". But how widespread was legal codification of land claims in 18th century Africa?

We have this new paper, led by Meghna Goyal, which provides the first global view of inequality in the agri-food system. We find that agricultural production has increasingly shifted to the South, but income is increasingly captured in the North. https://t.co/t8MJsy1yvD

👇 ¡Este!:

"oops, was that a border?"