The University of the Gambia (UTG) and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which both institutions aim to advance mutual exchange and academic excellence until the end of 2023. The cooperation agreement is made within the framework of the DFG-funded research project "Local perceptions of regional interventions: AU and ECOWAS in Burkina Faso and the Gambia", which is part of the research group "African Intervention Politics" and is led by Dr. Antonia Witt. The cooperation partners can already look back on one year of productive joint (field) research.
The goal of the project and the collaboration is to explore local perspectives on regional interventions by the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Burkina Faso and The Gambia. The core of the research is field work: since 2020, scholars from both institutions have conducted joint field research in The Gambia and Burkina Faso - so far in the context of more than 150 interviews and over 20 focus group discussions. Insights into the daily routine of research and collaboration can be found in a PRIF Insights interview with Sophia Birchinger, Omar M Bah and Sait Matty Jaw in PRIF Newsletter 4/2022 as well as other publications from the project.
Participants in the project are Dr. Antonia Witt (Project and Research Group Leader, PRIF), Sait Matty Jaw (Associate Researcher at PRIF; UTG, among others), Omar M Bah (Associate Researcher at PRIF; UTG), Simone Schnabel (PRIF), Sophia Birchinger (PRIF), and Adjara Konkobo (Associate Researcher at PRIF).