Chad: Soft Power – Missing Element in the Chad-Cameroon Border Defence Pact?

Strategies based on purely military operations can often alienate the very populations they aim to protect.

The defence agreement signed by Chad and Cameroon on 23 September is a welcome step in securing their more than 1 000 km border, but needs the buy-in of affected communities.

Insecurity in the border area takes the form of Boko Haram violence, inter-communal rivalries and various types of organised crime such as kidnapping for ransom, cattle rustling, arms, drug and human trafficking, and…