Maintaining peace and stability in Mali’s Sikasso Region: Strategies to contain land-related conflicts

Access to land is at the heart of inter-communal conflict in Mali. Combined with other regional, geopolitical, identity-based, economic and political factors, such tensions have been exploited over time by armed groups inciting violence, resulting in widespread conflict in both northern and central Mali. To better understand this dynamic, this study explores land-related conflicts in the Sikasso Region in southern Mali.

The research has deliberately focused on a region where extensive violence has yet to be observed. In doing so, the research seeks to identify ways to manage and prevent the escalation of land-related conflict at early stages, thereby preventing the spread of instability and violence witnessed elsewhere in Mali.

It examines the potential for land-related conflict to destabilise the region, alongside the relevance and effectiveness of different mechanisms and actors to support the resolution of these conflicts.

Peace Research Partnership

This report was produced as part of the Peace Research Partnership (PRP), a process of participatory research with partners and communities in conflict-affected areas around the world. The aim of PRP was to generate and share knowledge about how international actors, like INGOs and donors, can best support peaceful and inclusive change in conflict contexts. The research partnership was funded by the UK government. However, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.