Intimate Saharan Borders in Crisis Times

Previous studies on transnational intimacy in contemporary Africa usually focus on tourism encounters and prostitution practices. In contrast, the significance of these relationships for the humanitarian aid and development context has been largely neglected in scholarly attention, despite their current prevalence, especially in conflict areas and countries like Mali and Niger, where the tourist industry has collapsed. This chapter aims to fill this gap, examining the impact of interfaith and interracial marriages on the lives of humanitarian professionals and local spouses. The case studies drawn from the ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Sahara-Sahel since 2004 will show that intimate relationships shape new humanitarian practices and discourses

Armed conflict · Development economics · Ethnography · Geography · Humanitarian crisis · Political science · Refugee · Sociology · Tourism · African Studies and Geopolitics · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Identity, and Health · Sex work and related issues