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Migration Processes in Africa and the Problem of Security On the Occasion of the Second Russia–Africa Summit

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Abstract

As is known, in recent decades the scale of migration processes has increased, covering almost all continents. It is attempted to assess migration in Africa in the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa, both legal and illegal; to identify its causes; and to establish a connection between conflicts and their consequences. In addition, the task was to analyze the main migration routes. The migration processes in countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Chad, and others are studied. The common feature of these countries is the weakness of state power structures, which are not yet capable of solving independently the problems of national security. The situation is complicated by extremist organizations such as Boko Haram, which terrorize the local population. The former metropolises cannot solve the problem of security either. The novelty of this study lies in establishing the relationship between conflicts and migrations. The conclusion is formulated that the problem of migration can be solved only if the countries of the region become politically and economically stronger and when foreign aid goes not for armaments but for development purposes. An important role in ensuring the security of the borders and the civilian population should belong to the national security forces, relying on international support. In the authors’ opinion, in the short term, if the unstable military−political and economic situation in a number of states persists, migration on the continent will only intensify.

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Notes

  1. Note that the concept of border in most African countries does not always correspond to what we are used to—with established border pillars and a neutral zone. Most often, boundaries are drawn along rivers, other bodies of water, or natural barriers; often the boundary is purely arbitrary.

  2. Ethnic minorities are small peoples, which sometimes make up 1% of the total population of a country.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 22-18-00123 (https://rscf.ru/project/22-18-00123/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for African Studies (IAS), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    G. M. Sidorova & N. A. Zherlitsyna

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  1. G. M. Sidorova
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  2. N. A. Zherlitsyna
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Correspondence to G. M. Sidorova or N. A. Zherlitsyna.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Translated by B. Alekseev

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Galina Mikhailovna Sidorova, Dr. Sci. (Polit.), is an Associate Professor and a Leading Researcher of the Center for the Study of Russian−African Relations and African States’ Foreign Policy at the IAS RAS. Natal’ya Aleksandrovna Zherlitsyna, Cand. Sci. (Hist.), is an Associate Professor and a Leading Researcher of the same IAS RAS center.

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Sidorova, G.M., Zherlitsyna, N.A. Migration Processes in Africa and the Problem of Security On the Occasion of the Second Russia–Africa Summit. Her. Russ. Acad. Sci. 93, 213–220 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1019331623010124

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