Kamal Donko

Dr. Kamal Donko is a political geographer and researcher at LASDEL Parakou (Laboratoire d’Études et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local) in Benin. He earned his PhD from the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) in Germany, with a dissertation titled “Territory, Identity, and Local Politics in the Frontier Zone of Central Benin,” which critically examined the intersections of identity, governance, and territoriality in borderland contexts. As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Donko contributed to the project “Migration Control, Violence, and COVID-19: (In)Mobility Regimes in the Borderlands of Burkina Faso, Benin, and Niger,” funded by the Cluster of Excellence Africa Multiple in partnership with the University Joseph KI-ZERBO in Ouagadougou. This work explored the sociopolitical dimensions of migration control, mobility regimes, and their impacts on borderland populations.

Dr. Donko’s research expertise spans Migration Studies, (Forced) Im/mobilities and Border Social Dynamics, (In)securities and Border Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Conflicts Over Natural Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa. His work is grounded in a nuanced understanding of the complexities of borderland dynamics, addressing critical issues such as security, governance, resource conflicts, and social resilience. His scholarship bridges theoretical insights and empirical investigations, contributing to academic discourse while informing policy and practice in the governance of border regions and conflict-prone areas.Currently, Dr. Donko is a Junior Individual Fellow at the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) at the University of Ghana. His fellowship, from December 2024 to July 2025, focuses on the project titled “(Im)mobilities and (in)securities in hybrid spaces of war and peace: the economy of violence in the borderlands of Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin, and Togo.”