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UF team awarded NASA grant to study artisanal mining and charcoal production in Ghana

A team of University of Florida researchers has been awarded a $660,000 grant to detect and monitor risks of artisanal mining and charcoal production in Ghana, NASA announced last week. Entitled “Integrating Socio-Economic and Remotely Sensed Information to Characterize Conflict Precursors and Land Degradation Dynamics in Ghana”, the three-year project will combine images collected by […]

Revolutionary Insurgents or Conservative Reactionaries? National Liberation Army’s Transnational Expansion in Colombia and Venezuela

WALTHER – Revolutionary Insurgents or Conservative Reactionaries? National Liberation Army’s Transnational Expansion in Colombia and Venezuela Juan D. Rojas, Olivier J. Walther Article first published online: 10 September 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lag.0.0182 ABSTRACT: The objective of this article is to document the spatial diffusion of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Colombia and Venezuela. Building on a […]

Security and Trade in African Borderlands-An Introduction

WALTHER – Security and Trade in African Borderlands-An Introduction Olivier Walther Article first published online: 08 Mar 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08865655.2022.2049350 ABSTRACT: The goal of this special issue is to explore the relationships that bind trade and security in African borderlands. Examples from the Horn, North, and West Africa suggest that African countries are in the difficult situation […]

Contextualizing the Relationship Between Borderlands and Political Violence: A Dynamic Space-Time Analysis in North and West Africa

WALTHER – Contextualizing the Relationship Between Borderlands and Political Violence: A Dynamic Space-Time Analysis in North and West Africa Steven M. Radila, Ian Irmischer. & Olivier J. Walther Article first published online: 25 AUG 2021 Journal of Borderlands Studies DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2021.1968926 ABSTRACT: This paper examines the role of borderlands in contemporary armed conflicts in North […]

Focus Area 5: Catastrophes, Conservation, and Conflict

Disastrous natural hazards, both fast and slow, and violent conflicts affect many people worldwide, often impacting already fragile environments and conservation areas. These crises have significant political, economic, and social implications that can reverse development gains, further entrench poverty and inequality, thereby increasing the risk for future crises. Sub-areas Humanitarian Crises Social Vulnerability Natural Resources Outbreaks Environmental Security Community Conservation Protected Areas Wildlife […]

Focus Area 4: Geopolitics & The Global Economy

The turbulence of the current times has dramatically transformed the world’s economic and political geographies. The scale and scope of such changes require urgent attention. Important topics in this arena relate to: globalization and its impact on peoples and places; economic inequalities across geographic scales and borders; terrorism and power; the development of the knowledge-based economy; and […]

Focus Area 3: Places, Networks, & Flows

Geographers conceive of networks and flows between places as a foundational spatial concept. Geographic information systems (GIS) are the main analytical tools employed in determining relations between individuals, settlements, modes of transport, and infrastructures like power grids, and communication networks. The concepts can also be applied to disease contagion, healthcare service delivery, crime activities, river […]

UF signs a memorandum of understanding with the OECD to reinforce research in the West African Sahel

GAINESVILLE, FL – On March 4th, 2021, the University of Florida signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to encourage research on social and political changes in the West African Sahel. Signed on behalf of the UF Center for African Studies, the new agreement will reinforce ties […]