The project asks how the traditional/tribal authorities engaged in local governance in Libya, Mali, and Niger, where statehood is limited, build and maintain legitimacy. By doing so, the project focuses on how these authorities can be constructively involved in stabilisation processes and what that would require in terms of engagement by the international community. The research thus aims to inform (inter)national interventions in these countries on the consequences for supporting (formal) local government by producing practical recommendations. Examples of these international interventions that are targeted to benefit from this research include the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and interventions from VNG International, the HACP (Haute Autorité à la Consolidation de la Paix du Niger) and the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) that are aimed at strengthening local governance in order to benefit reconstruction and stabilisation processes in these countries. The generation of knowledge and the incorporation of that in international interventions results in the empowerment of traditional leaders and through the improvement of stability and safety of the populations in these countries.