The green, the grey and the blue: a typology of cross-border trade in Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	The green, the grey and the blue: a typology of cross-border trade in Africa
Author:	Dobler, Gregor
Year:	2016
Periodical:	Journal of Modern African Studies (ISSN 0022-278X)
Volume:	54
Issue:	1
Pages:	145-169
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Africa
Subjects:	boundaries international trade infrastructure
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X15000993
Abstract:	What are the reasons for the extraordinary dynamism of many African border regions? Are there specificities to African borderlands? The article provides answers to these questions by analysing the historical development of African state borders' social and economic relevance. It presents a typology of cross-border trade in Africa, differentiating trade across the 'green' border of bush paths and villages, the 'grey' border of roads, railways and border towns, and the 'blue' border of transport corridors to oceans and airports. The three groups of actors associated with these types of trade have competing visions of the ideal border regime, to which many dynamics in African cross-border politics can be traced back. The article contributes to African studies by analysing diverging political and economic developments in African countries through the lens of the border, and to border theory by distilling general features of borders and borderlands from African case studies. Bibliogr., notes, sum. [Journal abstract]