Short Abstract

This panel is meant to host a multi- and inter-disciplinary discussion aimed at exploring the production, reproduction and transformation of narratives about pastoralists across Africa, with particular attention for the recursivity of negatives tropes associated with pastoralism.

Long Abstract

The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists is drawing to a close, marking an important effort to recognize the value of pastoralism (Ulaanbaatar Declaration, 2026). Over the past thirty years, African regional frameworks have similarly recognized the importance of pastoralism (ECOWAS, 1998; IGAD, 2020). Yet, these institutional narratives coexist with other representations of pastoralists at different scales. In several African countries, pastoralists face discrimination from state institutions and sedentary communities; media representations may portray them as backward or violent; and conflicts involving pastoralists can become entangled with political competition and local power struggles. Fulbe communities provide one example. Their marginalization is documented in West and Central Africa (Bukari and Schareika, 2015; de Vries, 2020). Since the mid-2010s, it has evolved into stigmatization by their increasing association with violent extremist groups operating in the Sahel (as pointed out by Rangé, Magnani and Ancey, 2020; Pegurri and Kouassi Brou, 2025). Some international media and religious actors have also contributed to anti-pastoral narratives (Moritz and Mbacke, 2022). In East Africa, scholarship has similarly documented pastoralists’ marginalization and their construction as a “problem population” (Markakis, 2004; Hogg, 1986; Nyanjom, 2014).

Taking the notion of “African Prisms” as a starting point, we invite contributions exploring the production, reproduction and transformation of narratives about pastoralists across Africa, and asking who constructs these narratives, through which frames, and with what consequences. Contributions may address state institutions, media, civil society, religious actors, political elites or local communities, and may draw on different African regions, disciplines and methodological approaches.

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