{"title":"The Apocalyptic Rhetoric of Boko Haram","authors":"D. Cook","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.09","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:Research on Boko Haram has focused mostly on the group's violent actions. Underlying those actions, however, is a fairly deep-seated apocalyptic rhetoric that goes back to the preaching of Muhammad Yusuf (d. 2009). During the ten-year period since Boko Haram's transition toward activism, this use of apocalyptic rhetoric has become more pronounced. The question posed should be, is this an organic development within a Salafijihadist group that developed connections with the Islamic State during 2014–15 (and since) or is this rhetoric historic to northern Nigerian Islam going back to Shehu Usman Dan Fodio and his jihad? To what extent is Boko Haram beholden to its ideological forebearers in Nigeria from an apocalyptic point of view?","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"50 1","pages":"184 - 195"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82621659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gendered Security Harms: State Policy and the Counterinsurgency Against Boko Haram","authors":"Elizabeth Pearson, C. Nagarajan","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.06","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:Scholars have critiqued the incorporation of gender into counterterrorism and countering violent extremism programs, noting they have instrumentalized the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda toward state-centric goals and essentialized the women (and men) they encounter. Furthermore, as Huckerby has outlined, the explicit inclusion of gender in security policy can produce specific gendered security harms: coercive and noncoercive practices, securitization of women's rights, and lack of attention to the gendered effects of seemingly genderneutral policy. This article engages Huckerby's work to explore the gendered security harms produced in Nigeria's counterinsurgency against \"Boko Haram.\" It suggests first that a simplistic approach to 'women', rather than gendered power relations, leaves Nigeria ill-equipped to respond to the complex gendered dynamics of jihadist actors in the Northeast. Second, a neglect of human rights and the role of state actors in abuses actively enables gendered security harms. The article concludes that Nigeria is therefore still failing to protect women.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"122 1","pages":"108 - 140"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74231775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Negotiating with Boko Haram? Examining the Jihadist Exception","authors":"Jacob Zenn, M. Fox","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.08","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.08","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:Scholars have become increasingly pessimistic about Nigeria's achieving military victory against Boko Haram. The group's ten years of incessant combat, increasing military capabilities, and continuing alliance with the Islamic State are among the reasons why scholars hold this view. If Nigerian military victory is unlikely, then the question arises about whether negotiations present a solution. However, we are also pessimistic about negotiations because Boko Haram is, and has always been, a jihadist group, which by definition means it does not negotiate peace; Islamists, in contrast, negotiate. Nevertheless, this article acknowledges Boko Haram does engage in \"single-issue\" or transactional negotiations. Although single-issue negotiations are far different than \"process\" negotiations that can lead to peace, the former type of negotiation represents the only way forward to diplomatically engage Boko Haram for the foreseeable future.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"10 5","pages":"158 - 183"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91484921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Merchants of Terror: Neo-Patrimonialism, Counterterrorism Economy, and Expansion of Terrorism in Nigeria","authors":"E. Njoku","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.05","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:How can neo-patrimonialism aid our understanding of the materiality of counterterrorism and the expansion of terrorism? While previous works on the growth of terrorism have focused on issues such as the spread of radical religious ideology, US foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and poverty, recent works have examined factors such as the formation of linkages with other terrorist groups, fragmentation into cell-structures, forming of franchises, and exploitation of clannism and ethnicity. However, studies that interrogate the rentier nature of African and MENA region security institutions and its implications for the rise of terrorism are yet to be accounted for. This article draws from field research done in Nigeria between 2015 and 2019. It traced the expansion of terrorism in Nigeria to the neo-patrimonial systems inherent in security and political institutions, which are engaged in corrupt financial practices that breed a counterterrorism economy.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"70 1","pages":"107 - 83"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83919997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Entangled Incidents: Nigeria in the Global War on Terror (1994–2009)","authors":"A. Brigaglia, Andrea Alessio Iocchi","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.02","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:This article reviews the early history of Boko Haram (1994–2009) in the light of the trans-local entanglement of Nigerian political and religious actors in the global paradigm of the War on Terror (WoT). Empirically, the article shows evidence of Nigeria's early involvement in a counterterrorism strategy based on the surveillance of actors (who gradually morphed into Boko Haram) believed to be connected to international terrorist networks. Such a strategy was mainly designed to sever such alleged international ties. Methodologically, the article draws on the idea that terrorism and counterterrorism are two structures that take shape in parallel ways in any given context and suggests that Nigeria's counterterrorism strategies need to become part of the historical narrative on Boko Haram. Theoretically, it argues that the early history of Boko Haram was shaped by a specifically Nigerian configuration of WoT politics. It submits that two incidents that occurred in 2003 and 2009 should be viewed as WoT preemptive strikes rather than as insurgencies. Finally, it argues that such WoT policies have contributed to transform a small, embryonic group of militants animated by a global agenda into an all-out, local insurgency against Nigerian institutions and civil society.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"46 1","pages":"10 - 42"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81130461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"No Opportunity Lost: The ISWAP Insurgency in the Changing Climate of Lake Chad Region","authors":"Caroline Varin","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.07","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.07","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:Boko Haram spin-off Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has entrenched itself in the Lake Chad Region. In an area direly affected by climate change and counterproductive government policies aimed at disrupting ISWAP's activities, the terrorist insurgency is proving its resilience and adaptability by adjusting its strategies and recruiting among the local population. This article shows that the impact of climate change is exacerbating already-precarious livelihoods in the Lake Chad Region and argues that government failures as well as ISWAP's break from Boko Haram's nihilistic methods have combined to create an opportunity for terrorists to resurge by capitalizing on rising and justifiable local grievances. The result is a lesson for governments not to ignore the impact of climate change in the greater security paradigm of the nation.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"25 1","pages":"141 - 157"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84855849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"State Legitimacy and the Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria","authors":"A. Adesoji, Shina Alimi","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.2.10","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:The legitimacy of the Nigerian state has been challenged at different times since the attainment of political independence by actors either clamoring for self-determination or propagating exclusive religious agenda. Curiously, the state, rather than engaging these groups (including Boko Haram) in dialogue, has usually chosen to confront them. This paper interrogates how the Boko Haram insurgency constitutes a major challenge to the legitimacy of the Nigerian state and how the state has responded, given its experiences in handling violent challenges to its legitimacy.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"41 1","pages":"196 - 210"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84677526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impartial Versus Selective Justice: How Power Shapes Transitional Justice in Africa","authors":"H. van der Merwe, R. Chelin","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.1.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.1.05","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT:Transitional justice processes take on a range of different forms. Much attention is paid to their face value rather than the underlying characteristics that embody the true nature of these mechanisms. This articles argues that more attention needs to be paid to one underlying factor that has critical implications for the role of transitional justice in shaping new political dynamics: the impartiality or selectiveness of transitional justice processes. Using a comparative analysis of state-sponsored transitional justice in twelve African countries, we explore the contextual factors that appear to impact on impartiality, in order to make sense of the politics that shape transitional justice. The findings suggest that impartial transitional justice appears to flow from processes where the power balance is more equal, a situation that appears enhanced in contexts where there is some degree of democracy leading up to the transition, where the conflict was in the form of repression rather than civil war, and where change came as part of a reform process, rather than a military victory. This raises serious questions about which contexts may be amenable to effective transitional justice processes, while also highlighting the danger of political manipulation of transitional justice.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"1 1","pages":"126 - 99"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81735873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sabotage or Appropriation? A Study of Agential Behavior in Three African Civil Wars","authors":"Daniel Arbucias","doi":"10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.1.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.10.1.04","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT:This work is a comparative analysis of agential behavior in three African civil wars, specifically focusing on the role of diamonds and petroleum in violent conflict. Drawing from existing resource curse literature, this article postulates that subtle differences in lootability, trade networks, and institutional capacity contribute to large variations in agential behavior during violent conflict. The Algerian Civil War (petroleum), Angolan Civil War and Cabinda War (diamonds and petroleum), and the Sierra Leonean Civil War (diamonds) are used as case studies to show how these resources led to patterned differences in rebel and government behavior. In Algeria, rebels adopted strategies of sabotage to disrupt governmental oil exports yet in Sierra Leone, rebels sought to appropriate diamond mines to fund insurgencies. Angola, rich in both resources, saw rebels adopt both strategies to gain leverage over governmental forces.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":"12 1","pages":"72 - 98"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87374580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}