Governance and Security in North Africa and the Sahel

This conference brought together leading scholars, policy analysts, and practitioners from around the world to address the changing political, socioeconomic, and security dynamics within the Maghreb-Sahel region. Panelists examined the expanding horizons of insecurity and the challenges of uneven development, political contestation, and socio-religious change. They also discussed the wider implications of the trends for development, peace, and security in both regions.

AGENDA

8:30 to 9:00 a.m

Registration

9:00 to 10:30 a.m.

Welcoming Remarks (Michele Dunne and Cyril Obi)

Contestation and Adaptation in the Maghreb

Anouar Boukhars, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Azzedine Layachi, St. John’s University
Sarah Yerkes, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Moderator: Michele Dunne, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

10:30 to 10:45 a.m.

Break

10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

The Challenges of Governance and Security in the Sahel

Boubacar N’Diaye, Wooster College
Ibrahim Yahya Ibrahim, University of Florida
Ousseina Alidou, Rutgers University
Azeez Olaniyan, Ekiti State University, Nigeria
Moderator: Cyril Obi, African Peacebuilding Network, Social Science Research Council

12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

Lunch

12:45 to 2:00 p.m.

Cross-Border Security Challenges

Jacques Roussellier, American Military University, South Africa
Mohamed Gain, Ibn Tofail University, Morocco-
Rawia Tawfik, Cairo University
Moderator: Anouar Boukhars, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

2:00 to 2:15 p.m.

Break

2:15 to 3:30 p.m.

Libya’s Impact on Sahel-Maghreb Security

Lydia Sizer, Independent Consultant
Karim Mezran, Atlantic Council
Manal Taha, United States Institute of Peace
Moderator: Frederic Wehrey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

SPEAKERS

Michele Dunne

Michele Dunne is the director and a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Anouar Boukhars

Anouar Boukhars is a nonresident scholar in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and associate professor of international relations at McDaniel College.

Sarah Yerkes

Sarah Yerkes is a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Frederic Wehrey

Frederic Wehrey is a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Cyril Obi

Cyril Obi is program director of the African Peacebuilding Network program at the Social Science Research Council.

Azzedine Layachi

Azzedine Layachi is a professor of government and politics at St. John’s University.

Boubacar N’Diaye

Boubacar N’Diaye is a professor of pan-African studies and political science at the College of Wooster, Ohio.

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim is a PhD candidate in political science and a research associate with the Sahel Research Group at the University of Florida.

Ousseina D. Alidou

Ousseina D. Alidou is a professor in the Department of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures and the Graduate Program in Comparative Literature at Rutgers University.

Azeez Olaniyan

Azeez Olaniyan is a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti in Nigeria, where he is also the assistant director of the Institute of Peace, Security, and Governance.

Jacques Roussellier

Jacques Roussellier is on the faculty of American Military University and is a guest contributor for The Middle East Institute and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Mohammed Ahmed Gain

Mohammed Ahmed Gain is a professor at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra.

Rawia Tawfik

Rawia Tawfik is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University.

Lydia Sizer

Lydia Sizer is an independent consultant covering North Africa and the Gulf and previously was an officer at the Libya desk in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. State Department in Washington.

Karim Mezran

Karim Mezran is a resident senior fellow in the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council.

Manal Taha

Manal Taha is the Jennings Randolph senior fellow for North Africa at the United States Institute of Peace.

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.