James is interested in the political economy of natural resource management and conflict dynamics in the Sahel and savannah regions of West Africa. Before joining Clingendael James completed a two-year research fellowship with the Institute of Current World Affairs researching and writing about challenges facing Fulbe/Fulani/Peul communities across West Africa.

Ekaterina Golovko is a Research Fellow with Clingendael's Conflict Research Unit. She works on migration, organised crime and security in West Africa and the Sahel. She has previously worked with humanitarian and development organisations in West Africa mainly conducting research and analysis projects on smuggling of migrants, migration governance, human rights of migrants and drug trafficking. She has experience conducting fieldwork and data collection in different settings with a large variety of local national and international actors. She is based in Dakar, Senegal.  

Laurens Willeme is a Junior Researcher at Clingendael’s Conflict Research Unit (CRU) where he contributes to the Sahel programme.

Laurens’ research focuses on the political economy of conflict and elite politics, with a focus on how economic interests and business elites shape governance arrangements and conflict patterns.

Prior to joining Clingendael, Laurens interned as a researcher at Interpeace in Burkina Faso, and Groupe ODYSSEE in Mali. He holds an MSc and BSc in Political Science from Leiden University.