Digital warfare in the Sahel: popular networks of war and Cultural Violence

This study looks at networks of people involved in conflicts, both within countries and across borders. It uses different research methods to understand how these networks work, especially in the Sahel (in Africa) and other areas. The focus is on the type of violence where people approve or justify it, and how this spreads through networks that extend across regions. It also examines how talking about war and actual war are connected.

The Sahel has become the scene of unprecedented violence since 2012: a period that coincides with the advancement of new ICTs in the region. The role of digital connectivity is both a uniting and disruptive factor in this networked warfare. This project investigates this relationship and will focus especially on information flows on social media as a legitimation of direct violence, i.e. Cultural Violence.