State violence specialists in West Africa

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.