North African states face significant transnational challenges, including counterterrorism, migration and illicit trade such as drugs, weapons, counterfeit goods, smuggling, and human trafficking.
These activities are most prevalent in borderlands where the states in question often have only limited authority over local populations.
The policy debate over what should be done considers whether to ‘formalize the informal’ or to use the informality for responsive and realistic solutions.
The North Africa Dialogues initiative at Chatham House seeks to create a forum for constructive, policy-driven debate among leaders from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt to engage in a dialogue series on areas of mutual economic and resilience interests.