COVID-19 and African Borders in Transition

By: Samuel Kehinde Okunade and Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka and Willie Eselebor

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Synopsis: This edited book explores the realities in various borderlands across Africa vis-à-vis the complexities that have emerged with the upsurge of COVID-19, which put the world at a standstill. In other words, it investigates the changing dynamics of borders and bordering in Africa, with a specific focus on how borders were managed before, during and in the aftermath of COVID-19 restrictions on global mobility. The evolving nature of threats associated with COVID-19 has led to border closures (land, sea and air), calling our attention to the current state of emergency preparedness in the context of cross-border-related health threats, risk characterization, crisis management, emergency risk communication, capacities and capabilities for prevention and control. However, borders and frontiers are located on the periphery, limiting the early warning and response capabilities of states. This book marks a comprehensive and field-defining analysis through its questioning of what kind of transitions have occurred in African borderlands and our perceptions as to how borders and bordering have traditionally been viewed and upheld.