1 – A community analysis of the mechanisms of securitised development in the Uganda-
Kenya borderlands of Karamoja and Turkana
Patta Scott-Villiers
Institute of Development Studies
Abstract: This paper unpacks mechanisms by which government securitisation and community counter-securitisation function in the Karamoja-Turkana borderlands of Uganda and Kenya. It speaks from a community point of view and draws on community action research to explain the persistence of insecurity and militarisation. It then offers insight into the function and process of securitisation within Uganda’s political trajectory and in the geopolitical relationship between Uganda and Kenya. It demonstrates how the qualitative action research method, led by a diverse group of community members, carried out with appropriate rigour and resources, can generate not only new insight, but also new political actions, which in turn give further insight into the political processes at play. For the people on the ground, the cause-effect analysis has the potential to support the work they have been doing to find new ways to combat long-standing insecurity. For actors at other political levels, the analysis indicates how de securitising solutions may be found that bring Karimojong and Turkana into better relations with the state.
2 – Fostering Mass Antagonisms: Empirical and Theoretical Results from the Afghanistan-Pakistan Borderlands
Azeema Cheema
Verso Consulting
Abstract: We argue that many of the most harmful political phenomena – ranging from polarisation, widespread acceptance of disinformation and hate speech to political violence and democratic backsliding – stem from conflict actors successfully mobilising what we call ‘mass anxieties’, i.e. the self-reinforcing transformation of diffuse collective worries into deeply felt grievances. Although the specifics vary from case to case, the overarching driver is a belief in a given political system’s loss of legitimacy as a result of the usurpation of power from ‘the people’, and/or unacceptable, non-consensual changes to the social contract by ‘enemies’ of the people. Building on social identity theory and the works of Carl Schmitt on collective political enmity and antagonism we use a case study of the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands to describe how grievance amplification fused with political and social identity forms ‘mass anxieties’ into ‘mass antagonisms’ that determine the trajectory and intractability of any given conflict. In this paper we share not only our theoretical model and its underpinnings, but empirical results based on data generated from a 4-month study of current messaging by major state and non-state insurgent political actors in the region. The mixed methods approach applied to the study includes iterative online data extraction, followed by layers of frame analysis and narrative analysis in addition to qualitative enquiry through community-based research. Empirically, we apply frame analysis to public statements (with a special emphasis on digital common spaces) of the Pakistani and Afghan state, as well non-state militant actors along the Afghan-Pakistan border and their implications.
3 – Uncovering fragilities in Bangladesh’s Climate-Affected Borderlands
Tasnia Khandaker Prova
BRAC University
Abstract: In settings where conflict manifests as a complex, multi-layered phenomenon, localized approaches are key to capturing and understanding nuance. The Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University in Bangladesh are partnered with The Asia Foundation through the Cross-Border Conflict: Evidence, Policy and Trends research programme which looks at fragility in border regions. The team developed a bespoke research methodology for community-driven data collection, based on “participatory research,” that seeks to avoid the vertical power dynamics inherent in traditional research models. The instrument was first deployed in the Rohingya refugee camps at Cox’s Bazar, leveraging refugees’ own knowledge and experiences by training young people to use qualitative research tools. A core component of the approach, the establishment of ‘trust networks,’ and the open feedback channels between the community and the researchers, created space for critical discussion, mutual learning, and a holistic examination of the data. The method, a major contribution to the aid localisation agenda, ensures that knowledge is not solely extracted but co-produced with the community. The team is now piloting this methodology in south-western Bangladesh, where climate change exacerbates decades-old political fragilities along the Indian border. Groundwater and soil salinity, sea-level rise and waterlogging exacerbate communal tensions, upholding a state of ‘negative peace’ and threatening the effectiveness of resilience and adaptation strategies. Interlinkages between slow climate degradation, weak institutions and social instability require context-specific analysis. This paper builds on the study which first published the methodology (link below), outlining the experience and learnings garnered during its application in studying climate insecurity in the Indian borderlands.