Guest lecture by Daniel Tuki on November 26th

On Tuesday, November 26th, 2024, GSP-alumnus Daniel Tuki (now a researcher at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center) will give a guest lecture on the topic: "How conflicts over land and water resources turn into religious conflicts: The case of Nigeria".

The event will take place in person in the Übungsraum 1 at the Kollegiengebäude IV, University of Freiburg, starting at 18:15. You are cordially invited to attend.

Abstract:

From 1997 to 2023, there were 8,651 conflict incidents in Africa where at least one of the conflict actors was a “pastoralist.” These incidents spanned 38 countries and resulted in 29,681 fatalities. Notably, one-third of these conflicts took place in Nigeria, which also accounted for half of the overall fatalities. Why does Nigeria experience such a disproportionately high number of pastoralist-related conflicts? And why are these conflicts so violent? Many studies attribute pastoralist conflicts primarily to the effects of climate change. Droughts and rising temperatures have led to land degradation and water shortages, increasing competition between nomadic pastoralists and sedentary agricultural communities, particularly crop farmers. This competition for dwindling resources escalates the risk of conflict. However, based on research incorporating survey data and historical analysis, I argue that this explanation is incomplete. It does not adequately address why competition over resources turns violent in some places but not in others. Moreover, these explanations often overlook the crucial role of ethnoreligious identities among the conflict actors. My research demonstrates that pastoralist conflicts in Nigeria cannot be fully understood without considering the country’s religious context and historical legacy. Religion, in particular, profoundly influences how conflicts are experienced and how these experiences are interpreted by the parties involved.