Who can move?
Daniel traces civilian traffic, convoys, trade, drugs and displacement across roads and borders.
Independent research project · Toronto
Research on who moves, governs and profits across the Sahel.
Daniel Spurr follows roads, borders, mines and public institutions to test claims about power across Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and their neighbours.
Start here · Assessment · 17 min read
Cocaine across the Sahel: the protection economy
Ships and aircraft bring cocaine into West Africa. Brokers, officials and armed actors then sell the access and protection that move it towards North Africa and Europe.
Read the assessment- Question
- Who keeps a trafficking route open?
- Evidence
- UN reporting, seizure cases and route reconstruction
- Limit
- Country and hub level, with no operational route detail
Two more ways in
Read one company closely, then follow one conflict across a border.
Research focus
Two questions organise the work.
Who sets the terms?
Daniel examines the governments, armed groups, companies and brokers that tax, block, protect or profit from movement.
Use the work
Bring a question, source or disagreement.
For editors
Ask for a short background briefing, a source trail or an explanation of where public accounts conflict.
For researchers
Challenge a finding, share a public source or propose a narrow exchange on method and evidence.
For producers
Use a published paper to plan a guest segment or invite Daniel to explain one narrow dispute.
Accountability
Check the source trail and the limit.
Each paper names its research cut-off and links the sources that carry the argument.
The research register states the evidence limit and the fact that should trigger a review.
Open the research registerFounder and editor
Daniel Spurr writes and maintains the present research.
Daniel works from Toronto with training in climate policy, governance research, interviews and GIS. He plans to add regional contributors only after the project can pay them and agree clear credit and safety terms.
Read Daniel’s background