The governance of ‘ungoverned spaces’

Large areas of Africa, such as remote rural areas, entire regions of so-called fragile states and urban slums, are barely touched by any state presence and are regarded as black holes and security threats. Yet state formation takes place in many ways, and local populations and military groups have found ways of governing these areas. Research will focus on ‘state making’ in South Sudan and theoretical reflections on the nature of governance, state formation and the African state.