Border Economies, Youths and Livelihood

The research stream focuses on youth, the generation of livelihoods, and the dynamics of inequalities significantly shaped by power relations among stakeholders in border communities.  The research seeks to understand how power relations shape border communities, drive particular ways in which youths generate livelihoods, and how inequalities are created, shaped and sustained.

In many ways, the overall question underpinning this research is: why do border communities and economies behave the way they do? To explore this question, the research stream will focus on the six South Africa's border communities with Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Each of these border communities has distinct economic, social and security features, challenges and opportunities.

We have formed a Wits Research Consortium, made up of SCIS, Wits School of Governance (WSG), and the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS). We also partnered with other external stakeholders: the Border Management Authority (BMA) and the UNDP Africa Borderlands Centre. 

This research stream is coordinated by Dr Buntu Siwisa