A. Lahat Ndiaye, Serigne
Complex Trajectories of Mobilization Against Land Dispossession in the Peri-Urban Area of Dakar (Senegal)
- 2026.
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This article discusses the trajectories of protest movements in the outskirts of Dakar (Senegal), where changes in land use often lead to land dispossession. The land administration allocates land to private actors without always taking into account previous owners or occupants, whether villagers or city dwellers. The latter may then fight back to retain control over the land. Based on the experiences of two collectives, the article analyses the open resistance and struggles that are taking place, which sometimes delay eviction decisions, causing the protests to shift into a more discreet phase. The victims of these evictions seek to shed light on the shortcomings at the heart of land conversions in order to take legal action, which in turn pushes private actors to try to circumvent the resistance.