Cross-border Conflict, Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT)

Iran and its allies in the ‘axis of resistance’ have continually adapted to withstand external pressures. Despite severe setbacks in 2024 – including the losses of senior leaders – the axis remains more resilient than many in the West acknowledge.

Transnational conflict in the Middle East is fuelled by both ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ trade. Mapping these cross-border dynamics can help understand and address violent conflict.

This paper explores how the remote border district of Sinjar in Iraq became a transnational conflict hub that threatens wider security in the Middle East.

A system involving doctors, pharmacists, political parties, armed groups, and businesspeople fuels corruption and conflict in a medicine supply chain which kills people every year.

Poor infrastructure and even poorer governance is a critical part of the story of healthcare in Iraq, but so too is the complex issue of the movement and supply of medicines.

How the Libyan conflict transformed human trafficking routes in West Africa, and why Europe’s response has so far failed.

Exploitation and abuse of Nigerians and other people moving have become a profitable revenue source for armed groups in Libya. Tackling this situation will require both a transnational approach and policy tools beyond those traditionally associated with conflict response.

This episode discusses transnational links between the movement of people and armed conflict – from Edo State in Nigeria, through Niger, to Libya.

This episode examines the violence and harm caused by these illicit practices, and the international responses to them as part of an XCEPT project mini-series.

The trade of gold is perpetuating Sudan’s civil war and connecting the conflict to the wider region. Consequently, external actors that benefit from the gold sector could hold the key to a sustainable peace.

The contestation over gold – and its connection to transnational networks – is becoming a major driver of Ethiopia’s complex conflicts.

Amid civil war and territorial rivalry on both sides of the Ethiopia–Sudan border, sesame has become central to a conflict economy that perpetuates violence and political instability.

Long-running border disputes between Ethiopia and Sudan are intersecting with other internal conflicts, bringing greater militarization and economic instability.

In this episode, guests discuss gold’s connection to the current war and transnational dynamics.

After nearly a year of devastating conflict, there is little sign of a ceasefire. Concerted high-level international pressure is needed to change the calculations of the generals and support a democratic transition.

Approaching conflict as a national issue sidelines a complex web of transnational influences and threatens prospects for sustainable peace.

This paper explores the regional dimensions of the two-year civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and the potential for successful implementation of the November 2022 peace agreement.

More cohesive international engagement is needed to support stability in Ethiopia and Sudan and resolve damaging cross-border disputes that jeopardize security and development across the Horn of Africa.

This episode examines relations between Ethiopia and Sudan as part of an XCEPT project mini-series.

This episode of Africa Aware examines the relationship between Ethiopia and Sudan.