Understanding Boko Haram: terrorism and insurgency in Africa

This collective volume investigates the phenomenon of Boko Haram from various perspectives. Some chapters examine the aims of the movement and its glorification of past episodes, others seek to understand the rise of Boko Haram in terms of failure of the Nigerian state, yet others look at regional aspects of the movement or the way it interacts with ethnic, cultural or religious divides. The last part of the book focuses on what strategy should be adopted to end the carnage perpetrated by the militants and also considers international responses, amongst others on the part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU). Contents: Introduction: theorizing Boko Haram: understanding the terrorist threat (Hussein Solomon). Part I: The long dure. Boko Haram: a jihadist enigma in Nigeria (Marc-Antoine Prouse de Montclos); The Boko Haram paradox: ethnicity, religion, and historical memory in pursuit of a caliphate (Zacharias P. Pieri and Jacob Zenn); Old wine in a new bottle: ideological and operational linkages between maitatsine and Boko Haram revolts in Nigeria (Iro Aghedo). Part II: The Nigerian state and Boko Haram. Boko Haram and the widening of cleavages in Nigeria (Azeez Olaniyan and Lucky Asuelime); Identity, deprivation, terror: why Boko Haram rebels (Daniel Agbiboa); The elusive quest for peace: Boko Haram and the hollowness of Nigeria’s counterinsurgency strategy and weak security architecture (Olabanji Akinola); Mopping the wet floor of a leaking roof: fighting terror while overlooking radicalization (Ibaba Samuel Ibaba and Anthony Okoye). Part III: Responses. Portents of a fractured Boko Haram for Nigeria’s counter-terrorism strategy and tactics (Gbemisola Abdul-Jelil Animasawun); Effective counter-terrorism against Boko Haram: empirical assessments of coercion, delegitimization, incentivization and denial strategies in Nigeria (2009-2014) (John A. Stevenson, Amy Pate, Elvis Asiamah); The Western response (Virginia Comolli); Responding to Boko Haram: interrogating the effectiveness of state and regional intervention approaches (Kwesi Aning, Mustapha Abdallah and Festus Aubyn). Conclusion: Nigeria and a war across states in Northwest Africa (James J. Hentz). [ASC Leiden abstract]