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This article is concerned with violent conflict, one aspect of the relations between livestock keepers (herders) and crop farmers (farmers) in semi-arid Africa. These relations have been the subject of academic and development policy interest since the establishment of colonial rule in Africa (see Webb, 1995), and have been characterised by some as symbiotic (mutually beneficial and complementary), by others as competitive and by yet others as inherently conflictual. Indeed, a number of analysts see tensions, competition and violent conflict over natural resources as omnipresent in these regions (eg Mathieu 1995a, b). Recently, however, development policies and programmes have been influenced by claims that violent conflict between the two groups has increased, especially since the droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. Much of the recent literature suggests that this ‘increasing conflict’is due to two factors:(i) changing patterns of resource use and increasing competition for resources, and (ii) the breakdown of ‘traditional’mechanisms governing resource management and conflict resolution. These arguments have been used to support claims that development policies need to be changed to address and mitigate violent conflict directly, and recommended policies have included the establishment of grazing reserves or pastoral areas, a pivotal role for active pastoral associations and wide-ranging land tenure reforms (see Bassett, 1986; Scoones, 1995; Vedeld, 1994). Other recommendations include the retreat of the state and a return to local natural resource management by strengthening or adapting traditional institutions (eg Lane and …