The project analyses a) the relations between environmentally induced food crises and collective violence in Sub-Saharan Africa; b) the forms of (violent) action in conflict; and c) typical pathways of conflict escalation in rural and urban areas in the Sahel. The project focuses on whether or not climate change, food crises and collective violence are interrelated and on the processes that lead to escalation of social conflicts (political and social factors, geographical conditions, forms of distributive conflicts, etc.).