Project description:Violent conflict is on the increase in the Sahel since 2012, coinciding with the increased use of Social Media in the region. The organization of networks and their information flows are changing, and this project studies the conflict as a digitally and physically networked one. Cultural violence-the legitimation of violence-spreads through (trans)regional networks, and discursive and 'real' warfare become entangled. This interdisciplinary study focuses on (trans)national Fulani networks, combining historical-ethnographic and computational methods to understand the 'workings' of networked conflict. The project warns of possible increases in ethnic violence, resulting from digital media uses.
The project consists of 2 PhDs, 1 assistant researcher, expert in Digital Humanities and the PI; further intensive collaboration with Research/Practice institutes in Africa is part of the programme.
The PhD candidate willbe the main researcher in the sub-project of the programme entitled
: 'Mapping the popular Fulani digital networks in the Sahel and their entanglement in conflict networks', in which the project elaborates on the organization of Fulani (conflict) networks in the digital space. The PhD candidate will compile a data set on these networks that are verified on the ground and also related to physical networks, and analyse these data sets with DSNA (Dynamic Social Network Analysis). The methodology of this project will be a combination of (n)ethnography and (computational) social network analysis.
The candidate has to be acquainted with the Sahel region, preferably also conducted fieldwork in the region; has to be acquainted with research on the net and in social media; Has to be proficient in Social Network Analysis both quantitative and qualitative; has to be acquainted with ethnographic methods; and should be able to speak French, preferably also basic knowledge of Arabic and Fulfulde.
Key responsibilities:
- The candidate will write a PhD thesis in English or French within four years;
- Write at lease two co-authored articles for