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State Violence Specialists in West Africa

  1. Journals
  2. Sociologus
  3. Vol. 63, Issue 1–2
  4. pp. 103–124

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Beek, J., Göpfert, M. State Violence Specialists in West Africa. Sociologus, 63(1–2), 103-124. https://doi.org/10.3790/soc.63.1-2.103
Beek, Jan and Göpfert, Mirco "State Violence Specialists in West Africa" Sociologus 63.1–2, 2013, 103-124. https://doi.org/10.3790/soc.63.1-2.103
Beek, Jan/Göpfert, Mirco (2013): State Violence Specialists in West Africa, in: Sociologus, vol. 63, iss. 1–2, 103-124, [online] https://doi.org/10.3790/soc.63.1-2.103
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State Violence Specialists in West Africa

Beek, Jan | Göpfert, Mirco

Sociologus, Vol. 63 (2013), Iss. 1–2 : pp. 103–124

6 Citations (CrossRef)

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Article Details

Publisher Name
Duncker & Humblot
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3790/soc.63.1-2.103
Language
English
Pages
22

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Author Details

Jan Beek, Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz 55099 Mainz.

Mirco Göpfert, Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz 55099 Mainz.

Cited By

  1. Коррупция и государство в Сахеле

    Блундо, Джорджо | Филиппова, Елена Ивановна

    Антропологии/Anthropologies, Vol. (2021), Iss. 1 P.97

    https://doi.org/10.33876/2782-3423/2021-1/97-120 [Citations: 1]

  2. Polizei und Gesellschaft

    Selbstverständliche Staatlichkeit. Ghanaische und deutsche Polizeiarbeit im Vergleich

    Beek, Jan

    2019

    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-22382-3_5 [Citations: 1]

  3. Repairing the law: The search for justice in the Nigerien gendarmerie

    Göpfert, Mirco

    Theoretical Criminology, Vol. 20 (2016), Iss. 4 P.446

    https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480616659819 [Citations: 7]

  4. Epistemophilic obsessions: Espionage, secrets, and the ethnographer’s will to know

    Göpfert, Mirco

    HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, Vol. 10 (2020), Iss. 2 P.487

    https://doi.org/10.1086/709483 [Citations: 2]

  5. Travelling police: the potential for change in the wake of police reform in West Africa

    Beek, Jan | Göpfert, Mirco

    Social Anthropology, Vol. 23 (2015), Iss. 4 P.465

    https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8676.12268 [Citations: 9]

  6. Orders of trade: regulating Accra'sMakolamarket

    Beek, Jan | Thiel, Alena

    The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, Vol. 49 (2017), Iss. 1 P.34

    https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2017.1289358 [Citations: 8]

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Abstract

When encountering uniformed personnel in West Africa, as an inexperienced observer, they all appear alike and their scope of duty is obscure: soldiers, gendarmes, police officers, firemen, customs officers, immigration officers, forest officers, and community police are all uniformed and often armed with AK-47s. The duties of these different actors are not clearly delineated and seem to be self-selected rather than delegated by legal authorities. Scholars ascribing to theories of Security Sector Reform consider this overlap to be inherently flawed. This article examines the ensemble of state violence specialists and how it emerges out of everyday practices and self-descriptions. Violence specialists each tend to fulfil distinct tasks of everyday policing. Despite the conflicts arising out of overlapping claims, the emerging ensemble of violence specialists is not chaotic or disorderly, but relatively stable whilst retaining flexibility.

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