IHEDN-Enzo-Fasquelle-Securites-privees-en-Afrique-de-l-Ouest

Private security in West Africa

Enzo Fasquelle

Anyone who has ever walked the streets of Dakar, Abidjan or any other West African metropolis cannot fail to notice them: private security guards, guards or "stand-up and pay" agents have never been so present per square metre.

Why are there so many of them? What is their relationship with the state and the population? What does this tell us about the security situation in the sub-region and, more generally, about changes in our security models?

As the most visible face of a stealthier structural phenomenon - the growing privatisation of our security - an analysis of the routine practices of non-state security highlights the ambiguous links between the state and private companies.

Deconstructing the stereotypes surrounding the privatisation of security and the supposed downgrading of states, Enzo Fasquelle documents the history of security practices in West Africa, while deciphering the transnational links between local and international private security companies that weave a borderless security tapestry.

Publisher: L'Harmattan

Author : Enzo Fasquelle

Publication date: 28 October 2020

No. of pages: 126 pages

ISBN : 9782343208596