Displacement and cross-border mobility in the Great Lakes region: Re-thinking underlying factors and implications for regional management of migration

This paper analyses the factors underlying the displacement and cross-border mobility in the
Great Lakes region by problematizing the role of the Westphalian nation-state model, borders
and governance structures on policies and legislative frameworks that inform various
interventions concerning cross-border mobility at national and regional levels. Using data
on displacement and cross-border patterns in the region, this paper examines the role of the
Westphalian nation-state model as applied in the African context, and its influence on the
migration dynamics linked to conflicts and state instability, the inter-state relations and the
management of migration at regional level. The premise of this approach is the recognition
of the complexities within the African context in terms of changes in the cultural, socioeconomic and political processes, which are tied to pre-encounters with other civilizations
and contemporary social processes. In the foregoing, I argue that a limited focus on the
implications of this blending of practices and contradictions generated by the Westphalia
national state (the colonial model and its legacy in the governance structure and political
practices) and the disruptions caused by artificial borders undermine internal and regional
initiatives aimed at addressing migratory dynamics and their political and socio-economic
consequences in the region.