Dr. Olivier Walther joins the Center for African Studies this year as a Visiting Associate Professor. He is an Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Southern Denmark, the Africa Editor for the Journal of Borderlands Studies and has a long history of collaboration in research with organizations such as the World Food Programme and the OECD. His research has focused on cross-border trade, cooperation and terrorism in West Africa.
Dr. Walther’s appointment was established through an agreement between the University of Florida and the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Through this partnership, Dr. Walther will be working with the Center for African Studies and the Sahel Research Group for the next two years on the Cities and Borders research program. This programs attempts to analyze the physical, economic, political and environmental specificities of West African border cities, and the role they play in building regional integration. This project will also explore women’s trade networks in border zones, assessing their functionality and impact. More information on the Cities and Borders program can be found here:
https://sahelresearch.africa.ufl.edu/research/cities_and_borders_oecd/
https://www.oecd.org/swac/