Security in Niamey: an anthropological perspective on policing and an act of terrorism in Niger

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Periodical article

Title:	Security in Niamey: an anthropological perspective on policing and an act of terrorism in Niger
Author:	Göpfert, Mirco
Year:	2012
Periodical:	Journal of Modern African Studies (ISSN 0022-278X)
Volume:	50
Issue:	1
Pages:	53-74
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Niger
Subjects:	police kidnapping human security
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/41474959
Abstract:	The abduction of two Frenchmen in January 2011 in Niamey's supposedly most secure neighbourhood has led many to question the functioning of the city's security apparatus. This paper analyses Niamey's security landscape, initially from an historical and then from a spatial perspective. It argues that for a comprehensive analysis of security, we must first decentre our perspective on security construction, and thus take informal non-organized modes of policing just as seriously as policing by State and vigilante organizations; and second, take into account the inseparability of sociality and security, a fragile balance of trust and acceptable risk. In conclusion the author argues that this focus may be one way of comprehending the kidnapping: how was it possible and what were its implications for Niamey's security landscape? Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]