An upcoming series of online workshops titled The Trouble with the State: Boundaries and Networks in Africa will question the centrality of the concept of the "state" in the social sciences.

In African contexts, the Eurocentric ideal of the "state" does not generally reflect realities on the ground. Perhaps instead we should be paying more attention to transnational social spaces, boundaries and networks? What would that mean for development and peace building efforts?

About the workshops

The half-day workshops on 25 October, 2 November and 9 November 2021 are funded by EUCOR - The European Campus, an alliance of five universities in Germany, France and Switzerland. They workshops seek to advance fresh analytical perspectives and methodological reflection, making the link with real experiences and case studies, and give researchers the opportunity to exchange constructive feedback on ongoing research projects. 

Claudia Baez Camargo, our Head of Public Governance, is helping to organise the workshops as part of her role as Governance Lead for the University of Basel's Centre for African Studies, where she is also on the Steering Committee. She will co-host the Basel event on 9 November alongside representatives of the Centre for African Studies, the University of Bayreuth and Sciences Po Bordeaux.

Open to all - register now

The workshops will take place on Zoom and will be of particular interest to students and researchers in the fields of political science, sociology, history, African studies, anthropology, international relations, and peace and conflict studies.

As an Associated Institute of the University of Basel, we are happy to be supporting the series and its contribution to bringing academic insights to governance-related technical assistance work, and vice versa. We believe this type of academic exchange is crucial in order to inform interventions aimed at improving the lives of people in African countries. 

We hope to see you there – register directly (for free) on the links below or visit the Centre for African Studies website for fuller descriptions and speaker lists.

• Session 1: Consolidated or undermined statehood? The transnationalisation of state legitimacy. 25 October 2021, 09:15-12:45 CET. Register
• Session 2: Contested migration governance and borders. 2 November 2021, 09:15-12:45 CET. Register
• Session 3: The trouble with the nation-state. Knowledge production and policy implications in a transnational world. 9 November 2021, 09:15-12:45 CET. Register