Cabo Delgado: another ungoverned space of sub-Saharan Africa?

Abstract

Since the 2000s, the concept of ungoverned territory has become increasingly prominent, mainly due to the terrorist attack on the Word Trade Center on 11 September 2001, which launched the United States’ global fight the „War on Terror”, with increasing attention being focused on areas where the state presence is weak and could be the ideal base for terrorist and/or jihadist organisations. Sub-Saharan Africa is no exception, as over the past decade or more the territory under the influence of jihadist movements has expanded at an unprecedented rate. This paper examines the most recent case of this trend, the situation of Cabo Delgado which is the northern province of Mozambique. The paper discusses the criteria of ungovernable territoriality and attempts to answer the question of whether Cabo Delgado can be considered as ungovernable territory. In order to answer this question, it is necessary to explain the concept in detail and to examine the social, economic and security policy dynamics in the northern part of Mozambique.