2-day Workshop
The Power of Social Media Networks: Scientific research on the entanglement of online and offline networks in times of conflict in Africa
- Date
- Thursday 20 November 2025 - Friday 21 November 2025
- Explanation
- Thursday, 10:00 - 17:00 Friday 10:00 - 13:00
- Address
-
Johan Huizinga
Doelensteeg 16
2311 VL Leiden - Room
- Huizinga Conference room 2.60 (Thursday); ASCL Seminar Room 0.31, Herta Mohr Building (Friday)
The Power of Social Media Networks: Scientific research on the entanglement of online and offline networks in times of conflict in Africa
The NWO-funded project Digital warfare in the Sahel: Popular networks of war and Cultural Violence, organizes a workshop in which we focus on the central question: How and under what conditions do the interaction and entanglement of digital and physical popular/social networks contribute to the intensification and violence of conflict?
In this workshop we aim to compare different conflict regions in Africa and how conflict dynamics are (digitally) networked, discursively, ideologically, and materially, and why these dynamics help to understand the observation that conflicts over the past decades have become more violent and widespread.
In our digitally networked world, the meaning and understanding of ‘data’ are undergoing significant shifts, making the archiving of research data increasingly complex. During the two-day workshop, a special session will be dedicated to exploring how the nature of data is changing in the digital age. Particular attention will be given to the historicization of data and to rethinking what the archive represents in a digital context.
Target audience
This workshop (~20 participants) brings together researchers from various disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, political science, computational sciences, and security studies. It is intended for researchers with an interest in social network analysis, anthropology, social media, conflict studies, and African networks in relation to conflict. The languages of the conference will be English and French.
Remote attendance
Remote attendance is available by invitation to a limited number of colleagues.
Workshop Program
You can find the Final Workshop Program (pdf) here.
Contact:
For any questions, please contact Luca Bruls (l.r.bruls@hum.leidenuniv.nl)