20
Jul
2009
Publications Notes de l'Ifri

Control traffic or lose the North. Notes on traffic in Mauritania Note de l'Ifri, July 2009

Contrôler les trafics ou perdre le Nord. Notes sur les trafics en Mauritanie

Summary: Over the last past few years, Mauritania, like other countries in the region, has had a substantial increase in trafficking on its soil, notably with drugs. Far from just being a phenomenon on the margins, trafficking and the "grey economy" should not be perceived as excluded from statehood. Direct or indirect control is a political tool for the first circles of power.

Alain Antil is the Head of Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa program. He teaches at the Institut d"Etudes Politiques of Lille and at the Institut Supérieur Technique Outre Mer. He holds a PhD in political geography from the University of Rouen.

This content is published in French: Contrôler les trafics ou perdre le Nord. Notes sur les trafics en Mauritanie