Recognising the Local in Borderland Governance

Borderland governance is an ongoing process. Cross-border dynamics require continual management, and local borderland agreements are an integral feature and essential component of this.

The report examines the role of local cross-border agreements in governing borderlands. It analyses how local authorities and communities are involved in negotiating and delivering on borderland governance agreements that seek to promote peace, security and stabilisation, particularly around the seasonal migration of livestock (transhumance).

By examining the effect of local cross-border cooperation and the role of local actors in borderland governance, the report assesses the ways in which local cross-border agreements reflect local realities and prioritise the meaningful participation of diverse local actors. The report also considers how local borderland governance agreements interact with arrangements around national and regional borderland governance.

The report reinforces earlier findings that borderlands are not ungoverned spaces. Local communities manage cross-border relations around trade and livelihoods through local agreements. The report finds that local cross-border agreements around transhumance have transformed the livelihood practice from one that is poorly negotiated and largely unregulated at the local level into one that benefits transhumant and settled local borderland communities in the three borderlands.

This project has been conducted with the support and partnership of The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme, which brings together world-leading experts to examine conflict-affected borderlands.

Click on the Image to read or download here.

You can also read the policy brief and the highlights of our report.