Non-State Armed Groups and Illicit Economies in West Africa

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.

Lucia Bird, 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 & Event Data (ACLED)

Lawan Adamu, Northern Nigeria field coordinator for the West Africa Observatory at the GI-TOC