Salafist violence and artisanal mining: Evidence from Burkina Faso

Abstract

Armed groups have expanded their presence in the Sahel over the last decade, including in areas with intensive artisanal gold mining. Our understanding of how their presence changes the governance of artisanal mining sites, how it differs from agriculture and pastoralism, and what miners' response is, however, is still limited. In this paper, we examine how Salafist expansion interacts with local socio-political dynamics and impacts agriculture and artisanal mining in Sanmatenga province, Burkina Faso. We find agriculture contracts due to widespread violence against civilians perpetrated by Salafist groups, local militia, and state security actors. In contrast, artisanal mining expands. Local miners perceive Salafist governance on mining sites as more liberal, more inclusive, and economically advantageous. By building output-based legitimacy to secure artisanal miners' cooperation, Salafist groups’ approach so far differs significantly from state-led approaches, which focus on formalisation without tangible benefits for artisanal miners.