The Sahara has long been understood as an inherently empty space, also in terms of politics. Current events seem to confirm the association of the region with disorder and anarchy. Starting from particular case studies, both historical and ethnographic, this presentation attempts to draw out the political principles that structure Saharan political orders, in their articulation with other forms, with particular attention paid to notions of mobility, connectivity, property, authority and the production (or not) of borders. It argues that the Sahara’s ‘polypoly of legitimate violence’, if taken seriously, has the potential to help us question some of the most fundamental assumptions of standard political theory.

Judith Scheele is a social anthropologist and Directrice d’études at the École en Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Marseille, France. Her interests lie with mobility, Islam and political thought in northwest Africa. She has carried out extensive field research in Algeria, Mali and Chad. She is the author and coauthor of several single-authored books and edited volumes, including, most recently, Shifting Sands: a human history of the Sahara (2025).

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Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Kirchweg 33, 14129 Berlin