Trade, Rents, and Authority in borderland Checkpoint Economies​ (TRACE)

Lead researcher: Peer Schouten 

Partner: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)

Duration: November 2025 – October 2026  

Countries: DRC, Libya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, West Africa

TRACE examines how checkpoints in conflict affected borderlands shape – and are shaped by – shifting forms of authority, trade flows and local moral economies. Combining participatory mapping, interviews and commodity chain analysis, the project develops and tests a typology of checkpoint governance across two workstreams: an in-depth case study in eastern Congo and comparative studies in other border regions. TRACE illuminates how roadblocks redistribute rents, negotiate protection and influence political ordering, while a dedicated uptake stream ensures the findings inform more nuanced humanitarian, diplomatic and development responses. 

Scholars engaged under this workstream: 

• Abubaker Lndi 

• David Mansfield 

• Ibrahim Jalal  

• Joshua Craze  

• Olivier Walther  

• Xu Peng  

For more information regarding this research, contact [email protected]