Identity-Making at Gunpoint

Abstract

On 25 June 2016, a violent clash broke out between the villages of Mougna and Kossouma (Djenné, Mali), leaving 20 dead and 40 injured. While no “Jihadists” were directly involved, this was part of a process of outbreaks of armed land conflicts that spiralled in the wake of the 2012 rebellion. The sudden emergence of violence in rural, pastoral areas ties in with a more general disempowerment of the “bush” institutions throughout the State formation process. This article analyses how violence becomes public policy by leveraging ethnic and religious repertoires, including “Jihadism”, in land conflicts.