Professor Dr Conrad Schetter
Director
showViolent Futures?
Large-scale infrastructure projects like the LAPSSET corridor in northern Kenya cut through the pastures of pastoralist communities in Kenya and Tanzania. The standard-gauge railway, for example, runs through the pastoral lands in Narok in southern Kenya and Morogoro in central Tanzania. What is the impact of these projects on local conflict dynamics?
In this research project, we turn the concept of ‘frontiers’ into an analytical tool for comparative empirical research on development corridors cutting through pastoral lands in Kenya and Tanzania. A frontier is understood as a shifting socio-spatial boundary where expansive development agendas push into new territories, often overlooking local contexts. The project refines the frontier approach through comparative research on development corridors in Kenya and Tanzania.
In Kenya’s northern Rift (LAPSSET corridor), we examine how a planned megaproject fuels conflict and how such violence might be mitigated. In Narok county (southern Kenya), where a proposed standard-gauge railway line cuts through a region that is no longer purely pastoral, external development visions clash with local livelihoods. In Samburu (northern Kenya), we analyse how patterns of organised violence shift under frontier conditions. An exploratory study of Tanzania’s Central Corridor—a similar infrastructure push through pastoral lands with stronger state control—allows us to compare how state involvement shapes frontier conflicts. Outputs of this research include three PhD theses, five Master of Arts theses and peer-reviewed journal articles in collaboration with our partners in Kenya and Tanzania.
Publications
Digital Products
Project Team
Project Partners
University of Bonn,
University of Cologne,
Dr Kennedy Mkutu, International Relations and Peace Studies, United States International University, Nairobi, Kenya,
Lucy W. Massoi, Ph.D., Mzumbe University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
