About Diana Alima Cissé
Diana Alima Cissé is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on social movements and land issues in Senegal.
Discussant
Marie-Emmanuelle Pommerolle is a political scientist and associate professor at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Her work explores processes of politicisation and social movements in Cameroon and Kenya. She recently published De la loyauté au Cameroun. Essai sur un ordre politique et ses crises (Karthala, 2024).
This presentation examines the varied responses of local inhabitants near Lake Guiers in the Saint-Louis region of northern Senegal to land grabbing by a foreign agro-industrial company. While the older generation remains passive, young men engage in subtle forms of resistance, described as infrapolitics. The analysis draws on Dahl’s theory of power and field research conducted between 2022 and 2024.
- Gradual Land Grabbing and Suppressed Mobilisation
The agro-industrial company established itself near Lake Guiers in 2008, a strategic water resource for agriculture. Initially granted 5,000 hectares by the authorities, it gradually appropriated additional land belonging to local farmers. Despite media coverage of these practices, no visible collective mobilisation has emerged in the area.
The older generation’s passivity can be explained by a web of constraints, particularly their dependence on a clientelist system controlled by a local broker with close ties to both the government and the company. This broker distributes financial and material aid to villagers, creating a debt-based relationship that discourages resistance. Moreover, the company enjoys institutional protection, as illustrated by the arrest and legal prosecution of a farmer who attempted to defend his land. This case had a chilling effect on other farmers, reinforcing their reluctance to challenge the company.
- Frustration and Subtle Forms of Protest Among Youth
Unlike their elders, young men in the village—deprived of access to land and forced into precarious jobs within the company—express growing discontent. However, given the company’s economic and political control, their resistance does not take the form of open confrontation but rather discreet acts of defiance.
Many of these young men support Ousmane Sonko, a political opposition leader advocating for economic sovereignty and denouncing the exploitation of national resources by foreign companies. Their activism, however, remains subtle: some wear PASTEF party bracelets instead of more conspicuous t-shirts to avoid professional retaliation. Others have attempted to demand better working conditions, only to be swiftly silenced by the threat of dismissal.
- Fragmented and Controlled Opposition
The company maintains its dominance through a combination of economic, political, and legal control strategies. Clientelism secures the loyalty of the older generation, judicial repression discourages overt mobilisation, and job insecurity limits the scope of youth protests.
As a result, while resistance exists, it remains weak and fragmented, failing to fundamentally challenge the company’s presence. This study highlights the structural constraints on collective action and the role of generational dynamics in shaping local contestation.
Conclusion
Land grabbing in Senegal does not always trigger large-scale mobilisation. This research demonstrates how a system of clientelist and economic domination can suppress open opposition while fostering more discreet forms of resistance. A generational perspective sheds light on how power is exercised and contested in the context of land exploitation in West Africa