Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Boko Haram'

Boko Haram emerged as an independent group in Nigeria in the early 2000s and has since begun an insurgency, primarily operating in the northeastern region of Nigeria and increasingly further south and across the country's borders. Researchers have conducted numerous studies analyzing the causes of the insurgency. However few have compared it to other insurgencies in Nigeria or Africa. This thesis analyzes the causes behind Boko Haram's operations by drawing on the main debates within the literature on causes of insurgency in Africa. This analysis demonstrates how the academic literature on insurgency in Africa highlights important causes of Boko Haram's insurgency, but it also identifies gaps in the literature. One of the most important findings of the thesis is that religion can be a dominate cause of conflict. I argue that one of the main causes of Boko Haram's insurgency is the political competition over various issues between Nigerian Islamic organizations and political organizations. The most recent examples are the implementation of Sharia law across many of the states in northern Nigeria coupled with elite mobilization of youth groups affiliated with mosques. The role of religion as a cause of Boko Haram´s insurgency should not however be exaggerated as specific state weaknesses, especially a weak security apparatus, caused by democratization have also been one of the significant causes.

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This thesis examines the threat Boko Haram poses to Nigeria and its neighbors in West Africa, and determines the extent to which ensuing regional instability may or may not threaten United States (U.S.) national interests in the region. Among our conclusions, from the examination of U.S.-Nigerian relations over time, is that the United States generally acts in response to the media’s ability to incite a public outcry and less in regard to threats to perceived national interests. Boko Haram, initially viewed as a problem internal to Nigeria given its Nigeria- focused agenda, has since developed relations with influential transnational and international terrorist organizations, such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). It is our position that sponsorship from other terror organizations will make Boko Haram more dangerous and capable of threatening regional stability, ergo impacting U.S. security interests. On the basis of whether a terrorist group seeks state-level sovereignty or inclusion into an existing state, we propose several stop-gaps that, if applied effectively, could serve as countermeasures to hinder Boko Haram’s ability to move from being a peripheral to an important or even vital threat to United States interests in West Africa.

Scores of studies have explored the news media representation of terrorism in the last ten years. Much of this scholarship, however, has been from a western perspective, mostly relating to the international media. This study shifts the focus to the Nigerian press to consider the representation of Boko Haram in its national media. Boko Haram is one of the most violent groups in the world currently and has officially been designated as a terrorist organisation by every major government in the world. The study aims to show how an African press has reported terrorism within its national borders. Through an analysis of 851 news stories from three Nigerian newspapers, the thesis examined the portrayal of Boko Haram focusing on three main aspects: the news framing of Boko Haram in the Nigerian press, the sourcing patterns present in the news reporting of Boko Haram and the challenges Nigerian journalists face in reporting Boko Haram. Semi-structured interviews were used to provide further insights into major trends determined from the analysis of news texts. The study found that the news coverage predominantly focussed on two aspects: government response to Boko Haram and Boko Haram as the other. Boko Haram was also framed, in descending order, as a political conspiracy, as prevailing, and as instilling fear. Ethnicity, regionalism and religious affiliation appeared to be a significant determinant of the reportage, with journalists legitimising violence against the group and failing to promote or explore non-violent approaches. The study also showed that newspapers preferred official sources, especially from the security forces, while other key actors such as Boko Haram received little news space. Religious sources were given priority in most newspapers and used differently, depending on the ethnoreligious leanings of editors. Daily Trust, for instance, showed a significant statistical difference in its preference of Muslim sources over Christian sources. News reports of Boko Haram, thus, were largely presented from a political and ethnoreligious understanding. Alternative narratives like radicalisation were absent likely because of the absence of source groups such as experts who are not interested parties in the conflict. Thematic analysis of journalists’ interviews showed that inadequate funding, safety concerns and ethnoreligious politics were factors contributing to the news trends. The study underlined the need for media training for journalists to foster a more nuanced and conflict-sensitive news coverage in the Nigerian context.

This study examines the domestic media coverage of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. It focuses on the media coverage between 2011 and 2014. The thesis employs a mixed methods approach - content analysis, interview and questionnaire to critically evaluate the nature of coverage of the insurgency. The use of mixed methods allows the study to not only analyse media content but also situate it within its context of production thus broadening our understanding of the relationship between media and terrorism. The study applies seven predetermined (deductive) frames in its analysis. It establishes that political, religious and 'ethnic' frames were dominantly used in the coverage of the insurgency. The frames indicate a lack of nuance or texture in the coverage with various critical aspects of the insurgency ignored. Beyond the predetermined frames, ten new sub-thematic (inductive) frames also emerged from the analysis. By knitting the multi-layered arguments in the coverage of the insurgency, this study finds evidence of the Government's hegemonic narratives and strategic influence in the coverage of the insurgency. The study also notes that institutional weaknesses within news organisations and a hostile legislative environment forced journalists to source stories from the foreign media. Most of these stories are often decontextualized and therefore only give a partial view of a situation and particularly conflict situations in Africa. As a consequence, the domestic media adopted the language of 'international terrorism' and now institutionalised the 'war against terror' narrative. This 'homogenous' or 'universal' 'war against terror' implies that the media covered the Boko Haram insurgency from the same perspective that terrorist groups in the Middle East and other parts of the world are covered without necessarily recognising the different dynamics that led to their emergence. The thesis thus argues that overtly or covertly, external forces influenced the direction of the coverage thereby eroding the domestic media's editorial independence. This study therefore offers both quantitative and qualitative contributions to an issue that has largely been approached from normative and prescriptive perspectives.

This study investigates the terror group Boko Haram in Nigeria, its’ history and its subsequent pledge to Daesh otherwise known as the Islamic State. By joining Daesh, the most ruthless terror group currently, it has thrust Boko Haram into the targets of regional and international coalitions begging the question why would they take such a step putting them at risk. This research paper aims to view Boko Haram as a rational collective entity thus seeking to underline factors as to why they deemed it beneficial to pledge allegiance to Daesh. This thesis tries to fill the gap of knowledge regarding why terror groups, in this case Boko Haram, pledged loyalty to another terror organization. This research paper is carried out and organized as a case study whilst applying the method of abduction and uses rational choice theory when analyzing the factors behind the pledge to explain what cost-benefit and/or rational choices could be seen. The findings show that social, religious, and financial utility on the collective level can help in analyzing the factors and the reasoning behind Boko Haram’s pledge to Daesh however I argue for another utility, that of knowledge, to be included when viewing factors behind other terror groups allying with one another.

The Nigerian government has emplaced counterterrorism policy measures to combat Boko Haram terrorism since the group became violent in 2010. However, there is a gap in the understanding of how these policies were developed and implemented. Such knowledge may offer suggestions as to how these policies can be improved. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and describe the development and implementation of counterterrorism policy towards Boko Haram in Nigeria during 2009–2015. Scott’s institutional theory and Baumgartner’s punctuated equilibrium theory constituted the study’s theoretical foundation. Interview data were collected from individuals selected using a purposive and criterion sampling strategy who played prominent roles in the development and implementation of the policy as well as those who were its beneficiaries. Data were analyzed using content analysis and coding. Key findings from this study provide an understanding of how the policy was developed and how it is being implemented and might be improved. Recommendations include the development of a holistic strategy involving both soft and hard approaches. Collaboration between stakeholders in the security sector and key community leaders in northeast Nigeria is crucial to active counterterrorism effort. The insights from the study on Nigeria’s past counterterrorism policy development and implementation may assist policy makers in making improvements in their mechanisms and strategies for actively fighting Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria. Policy makers in other African countries may also find the outcomes of this study useful as they provide a potential blueprint for counterterrorism policy development and implementation.

The Boko Haram terror group has utilized more women as suicide bombers than any other group in history. While prior research has examined why this phenomenon is occurring, and what makes Boko Haram a unique terror group, the present study examines how these attacks are being perpetrated, or enacted, by the female bombers. Utilizing the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), which is the largest terrorism incident database available, the study examined the incidents of female suicide bombings perpetrated by Boko Haram. The open-sourced citations provided by the GTD were compiled and turned into a complementary qualitative dataset. Overall, there were 151 incidents of female suicide bombings by Boko Haram between 2014 and 2017, of which 102 were included in the final sample for the study. Results of content analysis indicate that there are similarities between the perpetration of suicide bombings by females and other acts of crime, violence, and terrorist acts committed by other women, but there are also distinct differences. The cultural and social constructs of the region create a unique situation for Boko Haram compared to other terrorist groups that have deployed the female suicide bombing tactic; however, these features also make it difficult to flesh out the overarching issues of coercion, victimization, and kidnapping that the group heavily relies on. Though the ways in which the suicide attacks are enacted can be examined, at this point, it is still unclear whether the young women and girls perpetrating the attacks are acting out of their own volition, high levels of coercion, or a blend of the two.

Boko Haram (BH) insurgency is driven by Islamist ideology and hegemony, nurtured mainly on failed education and sociopolitical policies and less by economic realities in Nigeria. Military counterinsurgency (hard COIN) successes are necessary but not sufficient to neutralize resurgence. The framework for this study was behavior modification by targeted holistic education policy (THEP) over ruminated frustration-aggression of drive theory. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to conduct a survey of educated participants (N = 95), randomly selected from education campuses in Nigeria, to estimate the power (relationship) of THEP over time to neutralize BH resurgence (NBHR). The data from a survey developed for this study were analyzed with descriptive, ANOVA, ANCOVA, and MANCOVA statistics. The powers of THEP applied from nursery through college (age 21) to NBHR or reduce the foot soldiers'€™ recruitment pools (FSRP) and correlations were evaluated. All 7 regression models rejected the null hypotheses. THEP and covariables including illiteracy (IL), political conspiracy (PC) or Islamic hegemony (IH), religious extremism (RE), and economic realities (ER) were related to NBHR. PC correlated inversely with THEP and IL inversely with reducing FSRP. ER had the least impetus (power) to drive resurgence. The results of this study can be used to promote positive social change by providing information on the prospects (estimated power) of THEP, acting with other COIN measures, to NBHR. The study may contribute to a better understanding of the impetus and solution to BH resurgence, but calls for further investigation into the power of nonmilitary COIN, particularly THEP, in Nigeria.

Studies have examined the causes and impacts of terrorism in Nigeria; however, no known research has documented the psychological impacts of witnessing ongoing Boko Haram terrorist violence based on the lived experiences of Nigerian children. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the psychological consequences of the Boko Haram insurgency based on the lived experience of Nigerian children exposed to terrorism in Nigeria. The study's theoretical framework combined Piaget's theory of cognitive development and punctuated equilibrium theory. The central research question examined the adverse psychological effects of the Boko Haram insurgency for Nigerian children residing in Nigeria. Data for this study were collected through interviews from a purposeful sample of 8 participants who were exposed to the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and a review of literature that primarily included peer-reviewed articles and studies relevant to the psychological theories. Colaizzi's method of phenomenological analysis was employed for data analysis. Results showed that all the participants reported negative symptoms of mental health disorders, which did not lead to permanent mental health illnesses. Among the participants, the primary factors that moderated the symptoms, preventing progression to permanent mental health illnesses, were fasting and religious support. Implications for positive social change include giving voice to voiceless Nigerian children and providing the Nigerian populace, multilateral and bilateral organizations, and the Nigerian government with information necessary to understand the effects of terrorism on children and promote resilience in children who have experienced terrorism.

Magister Legum - LLM
This paper will explore the history of the outbreak of religious related violence in Nigeria and the response of Nigeria and the African Union to the acts of the Boko Haram group both legally and procedurally. The intervention of the ICC as a viable option to combat the scourge of the group will also be examined. Other options such as trial in the Court of third States under the principle of universal jurisdiction and a special court jointly facilitated by the States involved will also be assessed.

Magister Legum - LLM
Armed conflict impacts negatively on the child's right to education as the targeted attacks on schools, school children, teachers and school facilities can cause a drop in school enrolment and attendance as well as longer term effects on the standard of education provided. This study assesses the impact of armed conflict on the child's right to basic education in the context of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Also, considering that the child's right to education protected in international and regional human rights instruments is not suspended during armed conflict, the study also assesses how well the Nigerian government in line with its international and regional human rights obligations has responded to the educational needs of children affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Una gran parte della popolazione mondiale tende a pensare che il maggior numero di musulmani viva in Medio Oriente. Ci sono 1,6 miliardi di musulmani al mondo e di questi circa 1 miliardo vivono in Asia e 240 milioni nell'Africa sub-Sahariana. La zona che prenderò in considerazione è proprio quest’ultima, concentrandomi sulla parte occidentale. Anche qui l’Islam ha origini antiche: commercianti arabi che hanno viaggiato lungo le rotte transahariane hanno portato la loro religione con loro dando il via ad una lunga tradizione di dinastie e califfati in Stati quali Mali, Niger, Camerun e Nigeria. Ed è proprio la Nigeria il focus della tesi. Uno degli stati più ricchi e sviluppati dell’Africa, la Nigeria è divisa quasi esattamente a metà tra musulmani e cristiani, che fino a pochi anni fa convivevano pacificamente tra di loro. Il nord era prevalentemente musulmano e il sud, al contrario, cristiano. Sentimenti ed ideologie più radicali hanno sempre proliferato al nord, ma è negli ultimi anni che la cosa ha preso un taglio addirittura terroristico: mi riferisco al gruppo islamico Jama ‘atul Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda’Awati Wal Jihad, più conosciuto col nome di Boko Haram. La setta è colpevole di centinaia di stragi e scontri armati che hanno coinvolto civili sia cristiani che musulmani, e che solo negli ultimi anni ha attirato l’attenzione dei media e dell’Occidente. Affronterò nel dettaglio quali eventi hanno portato alla nascita di un gruppo terroristico di tale portata e come lo stato nigeriano, con l’aiuto dell’Occidente, ha intenzione di affrontare la minaccia che sta portando la Nigeria sull'orlo del baratro.

Dissertação de Mestrado em Estratégia
Este estudo do grupo Boko Haram, examina a luz das teorias da estratégia, do islão radical, da contra insurgência e terrorismo, de modo perspectivo, histórico evolutivo e qualitativo, a implantação, expansão, do radicalismo e fundamentalismo islâmico na Africa subsaariana, com o surgimento de vários grupos terroristas. Tem como base a geopolítica e cultura estratégica da Nigéria e as condições endógenas e exógenas da VICA (Volatilidade, Incerteza, Complexidade do Ambiente) que propiciaram a emergência do grupo terrorista mais mortífero nos últimos três anos em Africa, o Boko Haram. A sua génese, centro de gravidade, a aquisição, disposição dos factores de decisão empregues na modalidade de acção, nas suas três fases de evolução, nomeadamente; a PAI (Propaganda, Agitação, Insurgência); Defensiva e Ofensiva, assim como as estratégias preventivas, defensivas e ofensivas, adoptadas pelo centro de gravidade contrário GFN (Governo Federal da Nigéria), nas suas duas versões que em períodos diferentes, um cinco vezes, superior ao outro, obtiveram resultados díspares, na persecução da vantagem estratégica quer a nível nacional, regional como internacional. Na conclusão espelhamos as particularidades do Boko Haram, no quadro do terrorismo de matriz islâmica na Africa Subsaariana e apresentamos as causas facilitadoras da emergência do Grupo e recomendações para que casos semelhantes não se repitam ou possam ser contidos.
This study examines in the light of theories of strategy, of radical Islam, counter insurgency and terrorism, in a perspective, historical evolution and qualitative method the, implementation, spread of Islamic radicalism and fundamentalism in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the emergence of different terror groups. Based on Nigeria geopolitical and cultural strategy, endogenous and exogenous conditions of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) in an environment which led to the emergence of the deadliest terror group in Africa, in the last three years, The Boko Haram. Analyze its genesis, center of gravity, the acquisition and disposition of its decisions factors, employed in form of action, in its three phases of development, namely; PAI ( Propaganda, Agitation and Insurgency), defensive and offensive , as well as the preventive, defensive and offensive strategies adopted by the opposite center of gravity, The Federal Government of Nigeria ( FGN).The results achieved with the change of center of gravity in the prosecution of strategic advantage at national, regional and international level for period of time, one five times longer than other that was different. In conclusion, we mirrored the peculiarities of Boko Haram, in the context of terrorism of Islamic matrix in Sub Saharan Africa and we present the causes that facilitate the emergence of the Group and recommendations, so that similar cases should not reoccur or be contained.
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This study investigates the terror groups Boko Haram and Abu Sayyaf. The study starts with the Islamic history in both Nigeria and The Philippines in order to get a broader picture and understanding of the subject. The purpose with this research paper is to study the radicalization process of these two movements listed above. To study the radicalization process of these two movements I will be using Eitan Y Alimi, Chares Demetriou and Lorenzo Bosi, relational, dynamics and process analytical framework. The question this thesis is trying to answer is how these two social movements eventually became two notorious terror organizations. This research paper is carried out as a comparative case study in order to find similarities and differences between the two cases so it can be generalized. The research paper also applies the method of abduction. The findings show that there are many similarities between Boko Haram as well as many differences. But also that specific political decisions made by the governments in both countries helped to further radicalize Boko Haram and Abu Sayyaf.

In this essay, two of the most lethal terrorist organizations in the world, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram are being examined and compared based on psychological, political, economical and religious theories. The essay was written with the aim to find out about cause, objectives as well as course of action within al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. One has found out that the cause of al-Qaeda is mainly based on religious and political indicators, while Boko Haram is primary caused by economical and political factors. The objectives for both of the cases are religious, but for Boko Haram, political as well. Both of the organizations use psychological factors as a way to go through with their course of action, but in the case of Boko Haram, the economical indicators are very convincing as well.

Human security is an essential aspect of human rights, as it is necessary for every human to feel secured in their community, and country at large. However, human security is frequently threatened by conflict, especially in Africa. Adding to the different challenges that most African states face, conflict contributes immensely towards destabilizing human security. As such, this thesis addresses the destabilized human security situation in Nigeria, by examining the implication of the Boko Haram insurgency. The effects of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, ranges from political, economic, social, cultural, to environmental. These insecurities have led to the destabilisation of the country and its economy. Although human security is broad, this thesis focuses on the political and socio-economic implications of the Boko Haram insurgency. This includes, but not limited to, poverty and illiteracy, unemployment, poor healthcare service, displacement, national insecurity, and political instability. The thesis argues that the Nigerian government has been unable to defeat the insurgent group due to the increasing rate of corruption in the country, which in turn leads to lack of adequate human and material resources need to win the group. In conducting this research, a literature-based methodology was employed, where secondary data, in the form of books, newspapers, online articles/journals, and reports, that have been written on the topic, were critically analysed to draw up adequate information on the activities of Boko Haram and it implications on the human security of the country.

There is a need to address current military strategies to defeat the resilience of the Boko Haram Terrorist (BHT) group. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide a counter-ideology framework as an alternative strategy to defeat the group. The relational/vengeance and relative deprivation theories provided the theoretical foundation for the study, and the research question addressed the extent to which counter-ideology strategies can be instituted to defeat the BHT group. Data were collected through semi structured interviews from 20 participants who were Muslim clerics, community leaders, and military personnel, and data were analyzed using Nvivo software. The themes for the study were developed using a content analysis approach. The findings indicated that the resilience of Boko Haram was due to the group's ability to maintain an ideological consistency with the extreme version of Jihadi-Salafism. Thus, there is a need to develop an effective reconciliatory national security strategy that is focused on counter-ideology policies to augment the ongoing military strategy. Given that counter-ideology offers a nonmilitary counterterrorism approach, it can deescalate the security situation in Northeast Nigeria, which can lead to socioeconomic benefits for the youth in Nigeria.

Boko Haram ha assunto una forma nazionale all'inizio del 2000 come gruppo di ribelli islamici operante principalmente nella parte nord-orientale della Nigeria con l'idea di trasformare la Nigeria in un paese islamico governato dalla Sharia. Nel 2014, l'insurrezione aveva raggiunto il suo apice con oltre 2,5 milioni di persone sfollate dalle loro città e villaggi e 37.500 persone uccise come risultato1. I militanti islamici stanno approfittando del processo di globalizzazione per portare avanti le loro aspirazioni, la setta si è espansa negli stati vicini (Ciad, Camerun e Niger). Boko Haram rimane in gran parte imbattuto nonostante le affermazioni contrarie del governo nigeriano. Ci sono state effettivamente narrazioni contrastanti sulle cause della violenza di Boko Haram, la maggior parte delle ricerche attribuisce le cause alla religione e alla privazione economica, ma per comprendere meglio Boko Haram, questa ricerca affronta la domanda, quali sono le cause "alla radice" dell'estremismo violento in Nigeria? Questa tesi esplora la visione secondo cui l'ascesa dell'ideologia islamica radicale in Nigeria che ha dato vita a Boko Haram non è un fenomeno nuovo e può essere compresa attraverso eredità storiche. Il progetto ipotizza inoltre che la violenza del fondamentalismo sia la risposta dal basso alla politica etno-religiosa del governo nigeriano.

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This paper examines numerous linkages between two influential terrorist organizations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa, Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and what would be the political and security ramifications on United States foreign policy toward Sub-Saharan Africa stemming from the enhanced partnership between these groups. I argue that containment of these groups and their current operations through overwhelming military supremacy does not project a sustainable way forward for not only the United States, but more importantly, for the international community. The ongoing instability in the Sahel could have enormous second- and third-order negative effects on the entire region. The threat both groups represent with their freedom of movement should not be underestimated. Both receive some form of active and passive support from their respected indigenous populations, and as they evolve, are becoming more sophisticated in their training, funding, and methods of employment. Regional Islamic safe havens could be created through the union of Boko Haram and AQIM as their modes of shared ideology, financing, and tactics move forward. Therefore, a strategy of moderate containment through enhanced engagement by leveraging all lines of operations, coupled with soft and hard power, will increase the likelihood of long-term stability.

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The purpose of this thesis is to examine the growth and activities of the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria with the aim of suggesting a strategy for resolving the crisis. The thesis will focus on the evolution of the sect and the enabling environment that served to support its growth especially in the North East region of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States of Nigeria. This thesis will demonstrate that the present response of the government which is more focused on addressing the symptoms of terrorism, remains inadequate, and requires a strategy that addresses the root cause and symptoms of terrorism to resolve the crisis. Such a strategy involves a government-wide approach whereby the military expands its operations to limit the operating space for the sect, and the government simultaneously addresses the root causes of the crisis as well as the conditions that facilitated the growth of Boko Haram in North-Eastern Nigeria.

The thesis examines the phenomenon of organised political violence in Nigeria exploring its root cause(s) and sustaining factor(s), using the extreme terrorist activities of the Boko Haram sect as a case study. The severe negative impact of this sect on the fabric of Nigerian society has led to a burgeoning scholarly literature investigating the sect and the phenomenon of organised political violence which, for the most part, concentrates on the gamut of political, economic and social ills that are held to drive violence in the country. The thesis contends that, whilst these variables are symptoms or outcomes of political violence, it is the tacit political culture adopted by Nigeria’s political elite that is the core cause of recurring periods of political violence and the groups that use violence. Elements of elite political culture such as zero sum politics, political elite manipulation of social cleavages and identity politics, themselves enabled by elite involvement in governance, leads to mis-governance by the elite in power and the concomitant emergence of social movements or groups to convey the grievances of sections of the country’s diverse population. These movements are, in turn, co-opted by individuals within the elite who use the movements’ muscle and influence to coerce the electorate, notably during election periods. This results in the social movements’ transformation into organised political violent groups. When the alliance with the movement ceases to benefit the elite and/or the level of violence becomes counter-productive, as was the case the northern political elite and Boko Haram, the elite reverses its rhetoric, recasting the movement, its creation, as the enemy.

Magister Legum - LLM
As the world evolves new perils emerge which pose a significant threat to human and child rights, it is imperative that the protection of these rights is prioritised. Human rights can be defined as the rights that every human being is entitled to. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was one of the first international legal instruments which set forth the basic human rights of citizens which are applicable irrespective of race, culture, sex or economic standing highlighting the universal applicability of human rights. Human rights violations have been prevalent on the African continent due to regimes such as apartheid and the innumerable armed conflicts which have played out in states such as Sierra Leone, Angola, South Sudan and Uganda. Over the past century a variety of insurgent groups have emerged, and their actions has resulted in catastrophic human rights violations across continent. Insurgent groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, Al-Shabab in Somalia, M 23 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Tajoura Battalion in Libya are some of the armed factions at the forefront of current conflicts.

This qualitative study sheds light on the framing of the sexual abuse of the Boko Haram's female captives sent to the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and analyzes emotional themes from tweets focusing on the release of the Boko Haram's female victims, the Chibok girls. Six articles were chosen from BBC (a British news source), Punch (a Nigerian news source), and the New York Times (an American news source) to reveal the frames. In addition, 118 tweets were examined to address emotional tweets under #ourgirlsareback, #82chibokgirls, #chibokgirls82, and #chibokgirls. The findings discovered the presence of the human interest frame, conflict frame, responsibility frame, and a stereotype in the articles. The tweets showed positive common themes- joy, gratitude, and hope. Also, the tweets included conspiracy theories.

The question of how armed group ideology influences its behaviour has been tentatively explored in the past decade. However, which role distinct ideological commitments play in civilian targeting has not been satisfactorily discussed thus far. This thesis turns to research on genocide and mass violence and incorporates the concepts of ‘exclusionary ideologies’ and ‘threat perceptions’ to fill this research gap. It addresses the following question: to what extent do exclusionary ideologies of armed groups influence their use of violence against civilians during civil conflicts? When revolutionary armed groups pursue their goals, threat perceptions determine which groups are considered legitimate targets for attack. Therefore, it is hypothesized that exclusionary groups will employ more violence against civilians than inclusionary groups because the former have a more expanded understanding of legitimate targeting than the latter. Through a structured focused comparison, discourse analysis and process tracing applied to the cases of Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, moderate support for this hypothesis is found. It is shown that both armed groups to varying extents invoke threat perceptions regarding certain out-groups to legitimize and rationalise their patterns of violence. Nonetheless, a descent into indiscriminate violence by Boko Haram and data shortage of Al-Shabaab attacks warrant caution.

The thesis focuses on the phenomenon of Boko Haram in Nigeria, attempting to give an understanding of the group based on the academical analysis that has been elaborated through time. A contextualisation of the movement’s evolution introduces two cases of study, currently under scholars’ scrutiny: the birth of the splinter-cell Ansaru and the Chibok kidnapping. The work is integrated by on-going debates among scholars and the most recently published contributions to the research.

L'un des défis sécuritaires majeurs auxquels le Nigéria a dû faire face au cours de la dernière décennie a été l'insurrection de Boko Haram dans le nord du pays. L'attention portée par de nombreux chercheurs aux récits relatifs à l'insurrection dans le nord-est, en particulier le Borno, doit son impulsion intellectuelle au climat de violence dont cette zone a été le théâtre. Cette focalisation excessive, aussi valide soit-elle, relègue quelque peu au second rang les recherches pouvant porter sur d'autres zones septentrionales, où les facteurs de risques de l'insurrection sont similaires à ceux du nord-est. Dans le cas particulier de l'État de Sokoto au nord-ouest, la capacité à endiguer la montée des violences perpétrées par Boko Haram s'organise autour du récit d'une synergie sociétale entre différentes communautés. Bien qu'existant en milieu contemporain, cette synergie tire son inspiration de l'héritage historique unique du Sokoto et de son djihad au XIXe siècle, autour duquel certaines communautés se sont tissées. L'étude entière a essayé de permettre une meilleure compréhension des liens entre les récits djihadistes, l'insurrection, les acteurs sociaux locaux, la puissance de l'histoire et l'expérience de la résilience et de la résistance contre l'une des plus célèbres insurrections africaines des dernières décennies
Over the last decade, a predominant feature of counter-insurgency scholarship in Africa has been the articulation of ideas based on troubling accounts in the north-east zone of Nigeria. The multiple enquiries by scholars owe their intellectual momentum to the sheer level of violence instigated by a group known as "Boko Haram". Few studies focus on the (counter-) insurgency narratives linked to states in other northern Nigerian zones where the Boko Haram crisis reached and where there are indeed risk factors for insurgency. Using the case of Sokoto, a state in Nigeria's north-west zone, this study addresses the principal question of what intervening variables have deterred a fuller expression of the Boko Haram crisis in Sokoto's societal context. In the particular case of Sokoto, the capacity to deter the escalation of Boko Haram's violence is framed around the narrative of a synergy among societal structures, which although located in the contemporary milieu, draw inspiration from Sokoto's unique historical legacy of the 19th century jihad. This study opens up understanding to the linkages between jihad narratives, insurgency, local societal actors, the potency of history and the experience of resistance against one of the world's most notorious insurgencies in recent decades

This thesis in Peace and Conflict addresses the development and impacts of the Islamic organisation Boko Haram in the context of frustration-aggression and complexity theories. It investigates the overall phenomenon of terrorism, reviews Boko Haram’s context within other terrorist organisations, and the impact that Boko Haram has had in the development of the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. Local and regional response to threats by Boko Haram is considered, as well as Boko Haram’s recent pledge to the ISIL terrorist organisation. The Boko Haram (BH) Islamic fundamentalist emerged in Nigeria in 2002 with the idea of turning Nigeria into an Islamic country to be ruled by the Sharia law. Other reasons were hatred for the West and adverse domestic factors in the north-east where the group has been more prevalent. The domestic-based insurgent group established links with some international terrorist organizations (ITOs) such as Al-Qaeda, AQIM and Al-Shabaab and became more sophisticated in its attacks and tactics which made it to threaten the national security of Nigeria in the destruction of lives and properties. This paper seeks to argue the evolution Boko Haram arising from some domestic factors prevalent in the north-east of Nigeria; and then conclude with some measures to be in place to put an end to the criminality perpetuated by the group in the country with the ability to seriously threaten the security of the state and the society. Finally, suggestions for policy recommendations to the Nigerian government are made.

Since the end of the Cold War, new notions on international security have arisen that suggest that the concept has evolved to include the security of individuals. However, the more traditional concept of international security as pertaining primarily to the security of states remains applicable to many current security crises. This thesis substantiates this argument by examining the international reactions to Nigeria’s Boko Haram security issue. This thesis finds that other states responded to the Boko Haram threat only when it extended beyond Nigeria to neighbouring states including Chad, Cameroun and Niger. The Boko Haram security threat was recognized as a common security threat when it began to affect Cameroun in particular. Therefore, this thesis argues that states likely respond to an existing security threat when it begins to endanger individual national territories. They acknowledge an existing security issue as a common security threat only when it extends beyond a single state into at least one foreign territory. The concept of human security in international security is therefore lacking adequate utilization during security crises and its correct application must be a strong focus within international security literature and policy.
Arts, Faculty of
Political Science, Department of
Graduate

Masters of Art
Intervention is a controversial issue in international relations. In recent years, the issue of intervention has been further complicated by the attention given to terrorism following the 9/11 attacks on the United States (US) by the terrorist group under the name of Al Qaeda. In 2005, the United Nations (UN) member states adopted the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle that was coined by the Canadian government to give intervention a multilateral dimension. The R2P principle was established to protect civilians from four atrocity crimes, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. R2P gives the international community authority to intervene in situations where states are failing to protect their citizens from the aforementioned atrocity crimes.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
Transboundary river basins (TRBs), and its array of biodiversity, have created a web of complex security, socio-economic and political interdependencies among populations, communities and multiplicity of actors across the world. However, the continuous degradation of these vital resources, resulting from natural and anthropogenic factors, has serious implications for global development, peace and security. Indeed, it further threatens regional resource base, induce livelihoods impairment, scarcities and conflicts over the utilisation and control of strategic resources, particularly in the Global South. The study explored the causeeffect analysis of the desiccation of Lake Chad basin and the dreadful Boko Haram crisis within the prisms of human security and regional development. It reflects on the interconnections among environmental change, human development, livelihoods, conflicts and the outcomes of interventions - military and humanitarian in reconstructing human security and regional development narratives in the Lake Chad Basin. The research was contextualised within two theoretical frameworks: eco-violence, and the capability approach. This was conceived to provide an improved understanding of both the micro (individual or group interactions) and macro (large scale - national and multinational actors) development processes, the enablers and constraints of human security in the region. Their implications for regional development, security, sustainability and stabilisation process are also elucidated. Mixed-method research and a case study design was adopted to specifically study the Lake Chad impact area, covering 542,829 km2, across the four riparian countries - Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. Although, the conventional or active basin of the lake - an estimated 984,455 km2 area was generally referenced. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for semi-structured interviews, focused group discussions (FGD) and document review. A total of 34 key informants, six (6) FGDs and 33 institutional documents (18 intervention and policy documents and 15 official bulletins) were utilised. These enable the substantiation of primary data with secondary data – qualitative and quantitative (derived from documents review). A thematic analysis of the causality of resource scarcities, livelihoods, and conflict relationships in the region was undertaken. This includes an assessment of the regional development process and the efficacies of security and humanitarian interventions in the Lake Chad Basin.The study revealed that the desiccation of Lake Chad and the destructive Boko Haram crisis (since 2009) impede development in the region. The lake’s shrinkage (estimated above 90percent from 1963 till date), caused by environmental change and unsustainable human practices or exploitation of the basin’s resources, have transboundary effects. These and the humanitarian catastrophes caused by Boko Haram menace have heightened human insecurity, and threaten communities’ fragility and transborder cooperation in the region. While regional development processes and intervention have marginal impacts on the population and their resilience capacities. Indeed, the complexity of the challenges overlaps with inconsistencies in the region’s development processes and the interventions regime – security and humanitarian management. Thus, addressing the consequences, while neglecting the root causes of human security threats in the Lake Chad Basin, further heightens the population’s deprivations amidst challenges of resource curse, geopolitics and its alteration of regional political economy. The above underscores the dialectics between human security and regional development. From these submissions, improved water resources and environmental management; inclusive development - to address the root causes of insecurity; monitoring and harnessing of national and regional development priorities; and integrated regional security-development strategy, against the military-led humanitarian approach, are recommended as critical solutions. These enhance a rethinking of human security and regional development matrix in the Lake Chad and other TRBs in the Global South. Therefore, the study highlighted the imperative of mediating exhaustive discourse on TRBs as Special Economic Zones (SEZ); constructive interactions between development processes and actors (stakeholders); the use of groundwater as a palliative; and the intrinsic mobility, multiactivity and multi-functionality of livelihoods in the Lake Chad Basin. These can be pondered in (future research and policy) discourses to enhance regional resilience, human security and sustainable development in the Lake Chad Basin.

Nigeria has seen an upsurge in violent conflicts leading to insurgency and terrorism since it returned to civilian government in 1999, following sixteen years of military rule. The Niger Delta and Boko Haram insurgencies stand out among conflict groups in Nigeria as they have produced global consequences, hence provoking domestic and international counter-insurgency efforts. Military responses remain primary, but development responses are being increasingly employed. Addressing issues of poverty, exclusion, injustice and underdevelopment is considered to be more fundamental to solving contemporary conflicts. In this sense, development and security are linked, and human, rather than state security is seen to be prioritised. However, the nexus between development and security is fraught with contradictions and the notion of human security is vague. Development intervention appears to be securitized such that it becomes a tool for protecting the strategic interests of external interveners and a tool of control by domestic interveners. Therefore, this thesis explores the prospect of a human rights approach to development as a means of mediating the tension between development and security. It attempts to intellectually consider the triad among the three concepts in relation to the Niger Delta and Boko Haram conflicts. The study explores how the internal and external development interventions towards the Niger Delta and Boko Haram conflicts have been developed and the issues that have arisen concerning their effectiveness. The exploratory study uses a triangulation method that includes interviews, focus group, documentary analysis and observation. The thesis finds evidence of a paradigmatic shift towards a rights based approach to development in the internal and external interventions, but one that still yields to securitization and corruption and adversely affects sustainable development. Nonetheless, responses to the Niger Delta and Boko Haram conflicts produce ramifications that justify general as well as specifically targeted responses to individual conflicts. More so, the study shows that the relationship between Nigeria and its external development partners seem to be less vertical.

While the media are known as information and entertainment source, some scholars (e.g. Galtung, 2002; Lynch, 2014) have also proposed peace advocacy as one of the concerns of journalism. This study provides an insightful account of a complex conflict- the Boko Haram conflict, in northern Nigeria. Boko Haram is an Islamic fundamentalist group that operates out of north-eastern Nigeria. With the Boko Haram conflict as the focus of analysis, this study examines conflict reporting strategies against the backdrop of the peace and war journalism model proposed by a Norwegian scholar, Johan Galtung. Galtung looked at the dichotomy in conflict coverage and views war and peace journalism as two varying frames in the coverage of conflicts. The study also examines national versus international media practices in the coverage of an intra-national conflict. Through content analysis this study concentrates on the coverage of the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria over a 16- month period by two Nigerian national dailies, Vanguard and Punch, and two United States’ dailies, New York Times and Washington Post, from February 1st 2014 to May 29th 2015. It considers the extent to which the newspapers covered the crisis based on war and peace frames as well as the dynamic nature of the coverage. Furthermore, this study also investigates whether the newspapers showed exclusivity in coverage towards war journalism or towards peace journalism or a combination of both. Within the period considered for this study, Boko Haram kidnapped about 300 girls from the Chibok High School, of whose fate uncertainty still prevailed as at the time of writing this dissertation. The study found that the Boko Haram crisis was represented in the newspapers examined as a thematic issue. However, the newspapers did not provide sufficient contextual and background information about the crisis. The media did not play active roles towards conflict management, as advocated by Galtung, and were involved in partisan reporting of incidents in the crisis. This study therefore makes a significant contribution to the debate about objectivity in news reporting and the role of the media for societal good.

La violence au nom de Dieu et de la religion gagne du terrain en Afrique de l’Ouest, en particulier au Nigéria, au Mali et au Burkina Faso. Face à cette situation terrorisante et angoissante, certains lecteurs situés incriminent la Bible en la considérant comme un livre de sang et comme une source d’inspiration des terroristes islamistes actuels. Pour porter un regard objectif sur cette problématique, nous avons décidé d’entreprendre une analyse narrative du récit de la bataille de Jéricho (Jos 6), inspirée par l’analyse de la réponse du lecteur, et de la comparer avec le discours de la bataille de Baga au Nigéria par Boko Haram. Cette étude comparative a pour but fondamental de vérifier s’il existe un lien entre ce récit de guerre biblique et les tueries de masses perpétrées par les groupes terroristes, en particulier Boko Haram, lors de la bataille de Baga, au Nigéria, le 3 janvier 2015. Pour ce faire, nous avons retenu comme cadre théorique, la méthode d’analyse narrative. Suivant cette méthode, il appert que la violence rapportée dans le récit de Jos 6 obéit avant tout à un genre littéraire particulier : l’étiologie. De ce fait, l’application de la loi de l’interdit qui légitime l’extermination de toute la population de Jéricho, ainsi que tous les animaux, n’est qu’un fait liturgique et imaginaire qui a servi à la création de l’épopée panisraélite de la conquête du pays de Canaan. Selon notre interprétation pacifiste de texte, il s’agit d’un récit qui prône la non-violence, la coexistence pacifique, l’inclusion des autres nations au sein du peuple juif, l’amour de Dieu pour toute l’humanité et le salut de Dieu pour l’Homme. En revanche, la violence que produit le groupe terroriste Boko Haram est réelle. Les massacres aveugles des populations locales, la destruction des symboles de l’État et l’expansion de la terreur dans tous les esprits, sont autant de facteurs qui caractérisent ce groupe terroriste salafiste djihadiste, au grand mépris des conventions internationales qui ont été mises en place au fil des ans et qui régissent aujourd’hui les guerres dites conventionnelles. Concernant les effets, il existe une similitude apparente entre les deux batailles (Jéricho et Baga) qui offusquent certains lecteurs non avertis et les amènent à vouloir les confondre. Mais les effets du récit de Jos 6 et du discours sur la bataille de Baga sont diamétralement opposées. Le récit de Jos 6 est un discours religieux qui met en scène une tuerie de masse, et Boko Haram justifie sa tuerie de masse par un discours religieux. Ce qui nous a amené à conclure que la violence rapportée dans le récit de Jos 6 n’est pas du terrorisme comme nous l’entendons aujourd’hui. Boko Haram, par contre, s’inscrit dans le terrorisme international et étend ses actes terroristes jusqu’au Burkina Faso en passant par le Mali. Actuellement, le groupe Ansarul Islam, alliés idéologique, stratégique et militaire de Boko Haram, menace et attaque l’Église Protestante des Assemblées de Dieu (AD) du Burkina Faso. Pour aider cette communauté chrétienne qui subit présentement la persécution sanglante des terroristes djihadistes, nous avons exploité les résultats de notre analyse pour lui proposer quelques recommandations. Nous espérons qu’une mise en application de celles-ci l’aidera à gérer la problématique terroriste en évitant tout recours à la violence et en menant une éthique biblique et sociale responsable.
La violence au nom de Dieu et de la religion gagne du terrain en Afrique de l’Ouest, en particulier au Nigéria, au Mali et au Burkina Faso. Face à cette situation terrorisante et angoissante, certains lecteurs situés incriminent la Bible en la considérant comme un livre de sang et comme une source d’inspiration des terroristes islamistes actuels. Pour porter un regard objectif sur cette problématique, nous avons décidé d’entreprendre une analyse narrative du récit de la bataille de Jéricho (Jos 6), inspirée par l’analyse de la réponse du lecteur, et de la comparer avec le discours de la bataille de Baga au Nigéria par Boko Haram. Cette étude comparative a pour but fondamental de vérifier s’il existe un lien entre ce récit de guerre biblique et les tueries de masses perpétrées par les groupes terroristes, en particulier Boko Haram, lors de la bataille de Baga, au Nigéria, le 3 janvier 2015. Pour ce faire, nous avons retenu comme cadre théorique, la méthode d’analyse narrative. Suivant cette méthode, il appert que la violence rapportée dans le récit de Jos 6 obéit avant tout à un genre littéraire particulier : l’étiologie. De ce fait, l’application de la loi de l’interdit qui légitime l’extermination de toute la population de Jéricho, ainsi que tous les animaux, n’est qu’un fait liturgique et imaginaire qui a servi à la création de l’épopée panisraélite de la conquête du pays de Canaan. Selon notre interprétation pacifiste de texte, il s’agit d’un récit qui prône la non-violence, la coexistence pacifique, l’inclusion des autres nations au sein du peuple juif, l’amour de Dieu pour toute l’humanité et le salut de Dieu pour l’Homme. En revanche, la violence que produit le groupe terroriste Boko Haram est réelle. Les massacres aveugles des populations locales, la destruction des symboles de l’État et l’expansion de la terreur dans tous les esprits, sont autant de facteurs qui caractérisent ce groupe terroriste salafiste djihadiste, au grand mépris des conventions internationales qui ont été mises en place au fil des ans et qui régissent aujourd’hui les guerres dites conventionnelles. Concernant les effets, il existe une similitude apparente entre les deux batailles (Jéricho et Baga) qui offusquent certains lecteurs non avertis et les amènent à vouloir les confondre. Mais les effets du récit de Jos 6 et du discours sur la bataille de Baga sont diamétralement opposées. Le récit de Jos 6 est un discours religieux qui met en scène une tuerie de masse, et Boko Haram justifie sa tuerie de masse par un discours religieux. Ce qui nous a amené à conclure que la violence rapportée dans le récit de Jos 6 n’est pas du terrorisme comme nous l’entendons aujourd’hui. Boko Haram, par contre, s’inscrit dans le terrorisme international et étend ses actes terroristes jusqu’au Burkina Faso en passant par le Mali. Actuellement, le groupe Ansarul Islam, alliés idéologique, stratégique et militaire de Boko Haram, menace et attaque l’Église Protestante des Assemblées de Dieu (AD) du Burkina Faso. Pour aider cette communauté chrétienne qui subit présentement la persécution sanglante des terroristes djihadistes, nous avons exploité les résultats de notre analyse pour lui proposer quelques recommandations. Nous espérons qu’une mise en application de celles-ci l’aidera à gérer la problématique terroriste en évitant tout recours à la violence et en menant une éthique biblique et sociale responsable.
Violence in the name of God and of religion is gaining ground in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso. Before this terrifying and agonizing situation, some voices raise to incriminate the Bible by considering it as a blood book and a source of inspiration for the current Islamist terrorists. To take an objective look at this issue, we have decided to undertake a narrative analysis of the battle of Jericho (Jos 6), inspired by the reader- response criticism, and to compare it with the speech of the battle of Baga in Nigeria made by Boko Haram. The main purpose of this comparative study is to ascertain whether there is a connection between this biblical story of war and the mass killing perpetrated by terrorist groups, particularly Boko Haram, during the Battle of Baga, in Nigeria, on January 3, 2015. To complete this study, we have adopted the method of narrative analysis as a theoretical framework. This reading method combines narrative analysis with sociological analysis. According to this method, it’s apparent that the violence reported in Jos 6’s story is above all a particular literary genre: etiology. Therefore, the application of the law of the prohibition, which legitimizes the extermination of the whole population of Jericho, and all the animals, is only a liturgical and imaginary construct that served to create the pan-Israelite epic of the conquest of Canaan. According to our pacifist interpretation of the text, it is a story that advocates non-violence, peaceful coexistence and the inclusion of other nations in the Jewish people. In contrast, the violence produced by the terrorist group Boko Haram is real. This Salafist jihadist terrorist group, in contempt of humanitarian laws, massacres civil populations, destroys the symbols of the State and spread terror. Based on the effects, one can find an apparent similarity between the two battles (Jericho and Baga). Such a similarity offends some uninformed readers and lead them to confuse the two speeches. But the effects are concerned the two narratives are diametrically opposed. The story of Jos 6 is a religious speech that staged a mass killing, and Boko Haram justifies his mass killing by a religious speech. Therefore, the violence reported in Jos 6's story is not terrorism as understood today. Boko Haram, in contrast, is part of the international terrorism and extends its terrorist acts to Burkina Faso via Mali. Currently, the group Ansarul Islam which is an ideological, strategic and military ally of Boko Haram, threatens and attacks the Protestant Church of the Assemblies of God (AG) of Burkina Faso. To help this Christian community undergoing the bloody persecution of jihadist terrorists, we present some recommendations drawn from our analysis. If implemented, they may help to manage the terrorist problem, avoiding the trap of a violent response to violence and embracing a social ethics informed by biblical values.
Violence in the name of God and of religion is gaining ground in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso. Before this terrifying and agonizing situation, some voices raise to incriminate the Bible by considering it as a blood book and a source of inspiration for the current Islamist terrorists. To take an objective look at this issue, we have decided to undertake a narrative analysis of the battle of Jericho (Jos 6), inspired by the reader- response criticism, and to compare it with the speech of the battle of Baga in Nigeria made by Boko Haram. The main purpose of this comparative study is to ascertain whether there is a connection between this biblical story of war and the mass killing perpetrated by terrorist groups, particularly Boko Haram, during the Battle of Baga, in Nigeria, on January 3, 2015. To complete this study, we have adopted the method of narrative analysis as a theoretical framework. This reading method combines narrative analysis with sociological analysis. According to this method, it’s apparent that the violence reported in Jos 6’s story is above all a particular literary genre: etiology. Therefore, the application of the law of the prohibition, which legitimizes the extermination of the whole population of Jericho, and all the animals, is only a liturgical and imaginary construct that served to create the pan-Israelite epic of the conquest of Canaan. According to our pacifist interpretation of the text, it is a story that advocates non-violence, peaceful coexistence and the inclusion of other nations in the Jewish people. In contrast, the violence produced by the terrorist group Boko Haram is real. This Salafist jihadist terrorist group, in contempt of humanitarian laws, massacres civil populations, destroys the symbols of the State and spread terror. Based on the effects, one can find an apparent similarity between the two battles (Jericho and Baga). Such a similarity offends some uninformed readers and lead them to confuse the two speeches. But the effects are concerned the two narratives are diametrically opposed. The story of Jos 6 is a religious speech that staged a mass killing, and Boko Haram justifies his mass killing by a religious speech. Therefore, the violence reported in Jos 6's story is not terrorism as understood today. Boko Haram, in contrast, is part of the international terrorism and extends its terrorist acts to Burkina Faso via Mali. Currently, the group Ansarul Islam which is an ideological, strategic and military ally of Boko Haram, threatens and attacks the Protestant Church of the Assemblies of God (AG) of Burkina Faso. To help this Christian community undergoing the bloody persecution of jihadist terrorists, we present some recommendations drawn from our analysis. If implemented, they may help to manage the terrorist problem, avoiding the trap of a violent response to violence and embracing a social ethics informed by biblical values.

Créé à la fin des années 90, Boko Haram est passé, en l’espace de dix ans, du stade de secte islamiste à celui de mouvement terroriste capable de défier l’État fédéral nigérian (première puissance militaire de l’Afrique de l’Ouest) et de mener des incursions dans des pays limitrophes (Cameroun, Tchad, Niger). Les objectifs, les méthodes et les cibles du groupe ont considérablement varié au cours de son évolution, ce qui obère toute tentative de catégorisation de la violence qu’il revendique. Les recherches existantes sur Boko Haram l’analysent en fonction de sa radicalisation à la fin des années 2000 et voient dans l’explosion de la violence au Nord du Nigeria une résultante du terrorisme international et transnational qui affecte le Sahel et plusieurs pays de la sous-région ouest-africaine. Or, la violence politique sur fond de revendications ethniques, économiques et religieuses fait partie de l’histoire politique du Nigeria, et Boko Haram est loin d’être une génération spontanée dans le pays qui abrite la plus forte population musulmane du continent africain. À partir d’un niveau d’analyse intraétatique, cette recherche propose une lecture sociohistorique et politique du contexte structurel à partir duquel Boko Haram a émergé au Nord du Nigeria. Puis, à partir d’une conception relationnelle du rôle de la violence politique, elle utilise l’approche de la violence instrumentale de Martha Crenshaw pour conceptualiser l’évolution des confrontations entre Boko Haram et l’État nigérian. Par rejet d’un système fédéral qu’il considère comme une survivance de l’administration coloniale, Boko Haram revendique effectivement la création d’un État islamique à l’image du Califat de Sokoto [1800-1903] dont les limites géographiques couvraient aussi bien le Nord du Nigeria que certaines parties du Niger, du Cameroun et du Tchad.

This study is to demonstrate the response of the international community against Boko Haram insurgency as well as the reaction of the Nigerian government and the regional countries of the Lake Chad Basin (Chad, Benin, Niger, Cameroon) in tackling the violence. Boko Haram has caused severe humanitarian crisis in the region as more than two million people have been displaced. The international community primarily focuses on creating basic secure conditions for refugees to return to their homes in safety and dignity as well as providing technical and military assistance to the Nigerian government in the fight against Boko Haram. The study begins with the Boko Haram`s ideology: Salafism and then next chapter focuses on the phases of the evolution of Boko Haram historically. Their activities were initially localized within Nigeria at the beginning of 2000s. However, the sect started to draw big international attention since 2010. Next chapter, after providing all necessary data, indicates that the responses of the Nigerian government and the regional countries to the Boko Haram violence and the humanitarian, technical and military assistance provided by the international community to the Lake Chad Basin countries are not sufficient enough to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. This dissertation is based on compilation, organization and interpretation of the related data. The dataset mostly comprises of books, articles, reports, online data sources, news outlets and press statements of governments and international organizations. Biggest challenge encountered during the data collection process is that there is no enough published material on Boko Haram and the fight against it. Hence the online sources were meticulously surveyed. In addition to this, as Boko Haram continues to occupy the headlines of the Nigerian press and new developments on this subject unfold on daily basis, it requires to thoroughly follow the news outlets.

Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) In the Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, 2019.
This study critically explores, in comparative terms, the socio-economic dimension (drivers and effects) of Niger Delta Militancy and Boko Haram insurgency, within the ongoing debate on the nexus between security and development. Using the mix of Root Cause and Rational Choice theories (2RCs), the study through qualitative methods, demonstrates the relative implication of socio-economic causes and effects of both insurgencies, based on evidence from interviews, available video documentaries and literatures. Acknowledging the weak, however irrefutable, connection between security and development, the study underscores that the social and economic dimension of both insurgencies must be factored into a long-term recovery plan, despite the seeming religious façade of Boko Haram. The study demonstrates that while poverty, for instance, is necessary but insufficient in explaining conflict, its persistence amidst affluence and economic growth suggest that it significantly determines the hopelessness, angst and lack of trust in the system that often nudges some citizens to seek alternative means of redress. Such means may be ethnonationalism or religion as suggestive of the Niger Delta militancy or Boko Haram insurgency respectively. In addition, both insecurities have been hijacked by certain individuals for self-benefiting ends. This hijack is somewhat driven by personal rational calculus and oiled by the pan-Nigeria “socio-economic neediness” among the masses. In this regard, while the masterminds manipulate this ‘socio-economic neediness’, the lower ranks (of these insurgencies) derive immediate economic or political benefits from participation through criminality. Meanwhile, the study found that socio-economic causes are more easily identifiable in the Niger Delta insurgencies as compared to Boko Haram’s, especially from the standpoint of legitimate grievances. For the Boko Haram insurgency, the socio-economic underdevelopment in the northern region are ideologically manipulated to mobilise wide support for the insurgency through monetary inducement, leveraging on the vulnerability of the populace. This is especially compounded by the lower level of education among it ranks of foot soldiers and general level of human underdevelopment across the region. The implication of Nigeria’s mono-cultural economy for the country’s development trajectory and the current instabilities are explored to illuminate what, why, and how the resultant socio-economic underdevelopment could be related to both insurgencies. Accordingly, the popular criticism of the socio-economic dimension that often allude to the relatively higher level of vii poverty in other parts of the north compared to Borno is critically revisited. This is done by demonstrating that Boko Haram is hardly a Borno or North-east phenomenon exclusively. Indeed, the historical and ideological resonance of Islamic extremism of Boko Haram, across the entire northern region, strongly reinforces this view. The study further demonstrates how the protracted insurgencies, among other agitations in the country continue to inhibit Nigeria’s overall development, creating an endless circle of conflict. Hence, in contributing to the attainment of a durable and sustainable resolution, this study advocates that adequate and improved redress of the socio-economic dimension, among the other notable undeniable dimensions must take place. In this regard, the study critically engages the mix of defence, diplomacy and development (the 3D) as used in other conflict regions in the world, to decipher possible ways forward. Minding context dependence of such policy frameworks and the difficulty with transferability however, the study ultimately seeks only to draw adaptable lessons, especially its accents on inter-agency cooperation (human and material resource) in comparable insurgencies. Herein lies the security-development nexus in Nigeria, given the deepening human insecurity and underdevelopment spawned by both insurgencies

Cette thèse cherche à mieux comprendre le rôle de la dimension visuelle dans les conflits contemporains en produisant des données empiriques sur les images, leur production, leur circulation et leurs réceptions dans deux cas d’études. Ces deux cas sont les confit urbain autour du trafic de drogue et du Primeiro Comando da Capital à Sao Paulo, et celui de l’insurrection de Boko Haram au Nigéria, Tchad et Cameroun. Cette approche montre que les conflits sont l’objet de controverses sur leurs définitions. Les acteurs de ces conflits tentent tous d’imposer des cadrages (framing) et interprétations de la situation en se servant des images. Quand les acteurs ne produisent pas d’images, ils sont forcés de proposer des interprétations de ces images. Pour montrer le rôle des images dans les controverses des deux conflits étudiés, deux concepts ont été élaborés. Le premier est celui de régime d’images qui correspond à des modes de fonctionnement de ces images permettant d'expliquer leur pouvoir sur les controverses. Ce concept est appliqué aux deux cas pour montrer les dynamiques visuelles propres à chaque conflit. Dans le cas de Boko Haram, nous identifions deux régimes, dont l’un a internationalisé le conflit. A Sao Paulo, les régimes d’images identifiés construisent les positions au sein de la controverse sur la violence. La thèse fait aussi l’hypothèse d’un capital esthétique des groupes armés qui pourrait être converti en capital militaire. Nous validons cette hypothèse en montrant le rôle de ce capital pour Boko Haram et le PCC. Les deux groupes s’efforcent de reprendre les codes visuels de l’Etat islamique pour manifester leur antagonisme politique
This thesis aims at understanding the visual dimension of contemporary armed conflicts. To do so it presents empirical datas on the pictures, their production, circulation and reception during two armed conflicts. The first case is the urban conflict around drug trafficking and the Primeiro Comando da Capital in Sao Paulo. The second one is the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon. This approach shows that contemporary conflicts are entangled in controversies about their meaning and definition. The actors of theses conflicts try to impose their own framing and their interpretation of the conflict using pictures. When the actors do not produce images, they are forced to advance some interpretations of the pictures. To identify the role of images in controversies relating to armed conflicts the thesis develops two concepts. The first one is the « regime d’images ». It underlines the modes of functionment of these images and makes it possible to explain their power over the controversies. This concept is used to show the different dynamics in the two cases. Regarding the Boko Haram insurgency, one of the « regime d’image » contributed to the internationalization of the conflict. In Sao Paulo the regimes of images reinforce the different positions of the actors in the controversy. The thesis also develops the idea of aesthetic capital of armed groups. This aesthetic capital can be transformed into military capital. We validate this hypothesis showing how this capital worked for the PCC and Boko Haram. The two groups are forced to adopt the visual codes and the aesthetic of the Islamic State to manifest their political antagonism

À l’instar des grandes transformations des relations internationales, les notions de la sécurité, d’insécurité et de frontière leurs étude ont été bouleversées par la multiplication des activités qualifiées de terroristes dans maints endroits du monde. Cette thèse se saisit de thème à la frontière entre le Niger et le Nigeria, victime ces dernières années d’une insécurité transfrontalière que lui impose notamment l’organisation Boko Haram qui agit à l’échelle transnationale en s’affranchissant des limites frontalières dans le bassin du Lac Tchad. Ainsi cette crise sécuritaire a fait l’objet d’une panoplie des réactions aussi bien nationales que bilatérales ou encore issues des organisations régionales et internationales. La gestion diversifiée de cet ébranlement met en lumière les contradictions qui animent les relations internationales et la complexité des ressorts d’une insécurité transfrontalière mouvante, mal connue et peu médiatisée
Like the great transformations of international relations, the notions of security, insecurity and border have been deeply transformed, especially due to the advent of the phenomenon labelled as terrorism in many places of the world. This doctoral dissertation explores this situation at the border between Niger and Nigeria. The region has been subjected to cross-border insecurity imposed inter alia by the organization Boko Haram, which acts on a transnational scale without considering the state borders in the Lake Chad Basin region. Thus, this security crisis has been the subject of a number of reactions at national or bilateral levels or from regional and international organizations. The diversified management of this shock wave highlights the contradictions that animate international relations and the complexity in handling this transboundary insecurity that is shifting, poorly known and poorly publicized

With the evolving problems of terrorism in Nigeria and the formation of numerous new terrorist groups, insurgency in Nigeria has escalated, making it one of the most terrorized countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This study looked critically at the effects of the strategies applied in the attempt to fight terrorism and how these strategies have affected insurgency in Nigeria. The background of the study gives an insight on the evolution of terrorist groups in Nigeria, their mode of operation, effects on citizens and the Nigerian economy, as well as the operations of counterterrorist agencies. The qualitative research method was used for this study. Critical theory and resource dependence theory were applied, and data were obtained through face-to-face and telephone interviews with 7 stakeholders. Detailed recommendations are made to aid counterterrorist agencies in developing and applying additional and effective workable strategies in their fight against terrorism. Policies in Nigeria were recommended that may discourage terrorism initiations and center the focus of youth towards nation-building. Social problems were identified connecting young people as the primary causes of terrorism in Nigeria. Solid recommendations in this direction have been provided to ensure youths across the country who form a vulnerable population and are the targets of terrorist sect recruitment are protected and provided with effective tools to prevent their conscription, while engaging them positively in becoming knowledgeable and self-reliant citizens.

This dissertation investigated the doctrine of the responsibility to protect (R2P), which was unanimously endorsed at the 2005 UN World Summit by all the UN Member States. I determined the status of R2P in public international law. I found that, although the 2005 UN World Summit Outcome Document is not a source of international law, the responsibility to protect contained therein under paragraph 138, reiterated the existing international legal obligation of states to protect their populations from genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. I have argued that if a state fails to fulfil its legal obligation to protect its population from mass violations of human rights, the principle of state sovereignty and its accompanying norm of non-intervention cannot prevent the international community from responding appropriately to protect the population of that state. But the international community does not have a legal obligation on how it should respond to situations of human rights violations. However, the responsibility to protect as contained in paragraph 139 of the 2005 UN World Summit Outcome Document and the constitutive documents of organizations such as the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have given authority to the international community to intervene in their member states in order to protect populations from mass atrocity crimes. On that basis, the responsibility to protect on the part of the international community exists. But the international community retains the discretion to decide on whether it should respond and how it should react to situations that fall within the scope of R2P. I used the three pillars of the responsibility to protect, contained in the 2009 report of the UN Secretary General to determine how the responsibility to protect was implemented in Nigeria to protect the population from crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated by members of the Islamic extremist militant group called Boko Haram. I analyzed various measures taken by the Nigerian government, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and concluded that the measures taken were not effective in defeating Boko Haram. Hence, I found that the responsibility to protect was not successfully implemented in Nigeria.

With the rise of global transnational terrorist networks (GTTNs), there has been an increase in scholarly output on the subject. While many scholars have focused on the ways in which these networks enable terrorist organizations to achieve their goals, few have studied the transformative impact that GTTNs have on group cohesion. In order to fill this gap, I seek to answer the question how, if at all, GTTNs affect the likelihood of armed groups experiencing fragmentation. In doing so, I propose three ways in which GTTNs can influence cohesion among their members and explore these in the cases of al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, while using the Taliban as a counterfactual. Although I find that both GTTN members and non-members experience fragmentation, the ways in which fragmentation manifests itself differs. Whereas the Taliban experienced fragmentation following key events, al-Shabaab and Boko Haram experienced splits as a result of long-term processes. Thus, GTTN membership ostensibly reinforces internal processes that may cause factions to split from the organization, thereby increasing the risk of fragmentation. However, more research is required on the different ways through which GTTNs exert influence over their members and the effect this has on the risk of fragmentation.

Il terrorismo di stampo jihadista rappresenta una minaccia per la società e una sfida per gli scienziati interessati a comprenderne la complessità. Questa complessità richiede costantemente nuovi sviluppi in termini di ricerca sul terrorismo. Migliorare la conoscenza empirica rispetto a tale fenomeno può potenzialmente contribuire a sviluppare applicazioni concrete e, in ultima istanza, a prevenire danni all’uomo. In considerazione di tali aspetti, questa tesi presenta un nuovo quadro metodologico che integra scienza delle reti, modelli stocastici e apprendimento profondo per far luce sul terrorismo jihadista sia a livello esplicativo che predittivo. In particolare, questo lavoro compara e analizza le organizzazioni jihadiste più attive a livello mondiale (ovvero lo Stato Islamico, i Talebani, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram e Al Shabaab) per studiarne i pattern comportamentali e predirne le future azioni. Attraverso un impianto teorico che si poggia sulla concentrazione spaziale del crimine e sulle prospettive strategiche del comportamento terroristico, questa tesi persegue tre obiettivi collegati utilizzando altrettante tecniche ibride. In primo luogo, verrà esplorata la complessità operativa delle organizzazioni jihadiste attraverso l’analisi di matrici stocastiche di transizione e verrà presentato un nuovo coefficiente, denominato “Normalized Transition Similarity”, che misura la somiglianza fra paia di gruppi in termini di dinamiche operative. In secondo luogo, i processi stocastici di Hawkes aiuteranno a testare la presenza di meccanismi di dipendenza temporale all’interno delle più comuni sotto-sequenze strategiche di ciascun gruppo. Infine, il framework integrerà la meta-reti complesse e l’apprendimento profondo per classificare e prevedere i target a maggiore rischio di essere colpiti dalle organizzazioni jihadiste durante i loro futuri attacchi. Per quanto riguarda i risultati, le matrici stocastiche di transizione mostrano che i gruppi terroristici possiedono un ricco e complesso repertorio di combinazioni in termini di armi e obiettivi. Inoltre, i processi di Hawkes indicano la presenza di diffusa self-excitability nelle sequenze di eventi. Infine, i modelli predittivi che sfruttano la flessibilità delle serie temporali derivanti da grafi dinamici e le reti neurali Long Short-Term Memory forniscono risultati promettenti rispetto ai target più a rischio. Nel complesso, questo lavoro ambisce a dimostrare come connessioni astratte e nascoste fra eventi possano essere fondamentali nel rivelare le meccaniche del comportamento jihadista e come processi memory-like (ovvero molteplici comportamenti ricorrenti, interconnessi e non randomici) possano risultare estremamente utili nel comprendere le modalità attraverso cui tali organizzazioni operano.
Jihadist terrorism represents a global threat for societies and a challenge for scientists interested in understanding its complexity. This complexity continuously calls for developments in terrorism research. Enhancing the empirical knowledge on the phenomenon can potentially contribute to developing concrete real-world applications and, ultimately, to the prevention of societal damages. In light of these aspects, this work presents a novel methodological framework that integrates network science, mathematical modeling, and deep learning to shed light on jihadism, both at the explanatory and predictive levels. Specifically, this dissertation will compare and analyze the world's most active jihadist terrorist organizations (i.e. The Islamic State, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and Al Shabaab) to investigate their behavioral patterns and forecast their future actions. Building upon a theoretical framework that relies on the spatial concentration of terrorist violence and the strategic perspective of terrorist behavior, this dissertation will pursue three linked tasks, employing as many hybrid techniques. Firstly, explore the operational complexity of jihadist organizations using stochastic transition matrices and present Normalized Transition Similarity, a novel coefficient of pairwise similarity in terms of strategic behavior. Secondly, investigate the presence of time-dependent dynamics in attack sequences using Hawkes point processes. Thirdly, integrate complex meta-networks and deep learning to rank and forecast most probable future targets attacked by the jihadist groups. Concerning the results, stochastic transition matrices show that terrorist groups possess a complex repertoire of combinations in the use of weapons and targets. Furthermore, Hawkes models indicate the diffused presence of self-excitability in attack sequences. Finally, forecasting models that exploit the flexibility of graph-derived time series and Long Short-Term Memory networks provide promising results in terms of correct predictions of most likely terrorist targets. Overall, this research seeks to reveal how hidden abstract connections between events can be exploited to unveil jihadist mechanics and how memory-like processes (i.e. multiple non-random parallel and interconnected recurrent behaviors) might illuminate the way in which these groups act.

"The Book and the Veil" is an experimental ethnographic study that presents a feminist critique of Orientalist discourse as it relates to Istanbul at the turn of the twentieth century.
The Preface reviews relevant anthropological literature in order to construct the theoretical context of the thesis. The Introduction then elaborates on the various voices embodied in the text, each of which expresses different types of cultural and critical information.
Part 1 (Chapters 1-4), comments on Grace Ellison's stay in Istanbul harems in 1914, as described in An Englishwoman in a Turkish Harem. Part 2 (Chapters 5-7), engages in a dialogue with Pierre Loti as a representative of Orientalist discourse and comments on Zeyneb Hanoum's A Turkish Woman's European Impressions. Zeyneb Hanoum's experiences in Europe are then compared with Grace Ellison's stay in Turkey.
The Conclusion offers a discussion and critique of feminism and representative writing.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts of International Relations in the Faculty of Humanities Department of International Relations, Johannesburg 2017
The growing role of Private Military Companies (P.M.C) has led to a magnitude of security concerns internationally. Due to their past reputation, P.M.Cs have been demonised by the international community in the form of scholars as well as journalists, as their personnel have been misunderstood for mercenaries (De Nevers 2009). It is therefore important to clarify the difference between contractors and mercenaries. However due to the growth of different actors and security threats, Private Military Companies have emerged as an effective alternative solution in engaging non-traditional threats in the international arena, a role states have increasingly failed in. Private Military Companies have become more successful in applying counterinsurgency tactics due to their structural setup, skills and expertise as well as technological advancement and understanding of warfare. This has led to an increase in reliance from states including the United States, Angola, and more recently Nigeria. Through the examination of the Nigerian case study, the thesis paper aims to understand how the P.M.C (S.T.T.E.P) was able to apply its COIN tactics effectively in combating Boko Haram. It is important to examine the Nigerian case study as P.M.C success could possibly be used to combat the proliferation of terrorist manoeuvres such as Al-Shabaab. The Nigerian case is also important as it displays how S.T.T.E.P working together with the N.D.F could strengthen their COIN campaign against Boko Haram.
XL2018

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
In this study, rhetorical analysis through the framework of victimage ritual is employed to analyze four Boko Haram messages on You Tube, five e-mail messages sent to journalists from leaders of Boko Haram, and a BlogSpot web page devoted to Boko Haram. The aim of this analysis is to understand the persuasive devices by which Boko Haram leaders create, express, and sustain their jurisprudence on acts of violence. The goal of this study is to understand how leaders of Boko Haram construct and express the group’s values, sway belief, and justify violence. The findings show that Boko Haram desire to redeem non-Muslims from perdition, liberate Muslims from persecution, protect Islam from criticism, and revenge perceived acts of injustices against Muslims. The group has embarked on this aim by allotting blame, vilifying the enemy-Other, pressing for a holy war, encouraging martyrdom, and alluding to an apocalypse. Boko Haram’s audience is made to believe that Allah has assigned Boko Haram the task to liberate and restore an Islamic haven in Nigeria. Therefore, opposition from the Nigerian government or Western forces is constructed as actions of evil, thus killing members of the opposition becomes a celestial and noble cause. This juxtaposition serves to encourage the violent Jihad which leaders of Boko Haram claims Allah assigned them to lead in the first place. As a result of this cyclical communication, media houses, along the Nigerian government, Christians and Western ideals become the symbolic evil, against which Muslims, sympathizers and would-be-recruits must unite. By locking Islam against the Nigerian government, Western ideals and Christianity in a characteristically hostile manner, Boko Haram precludes any real solution other than an orchestrated Jihad-crusade-or-cleanse model in which a possible coexistence of Muslims and the enemy-Other are denied, and the threat posed by the enemy-Other is eliminated through conversion or destruction. As a result, this study proposes that Boko Haram Internet messages Boko Haram’s mission reveals a movement of separatism, conservatism, and fascism. A movement based on the claim that its activism will establish a state in accordance with the dictates of Allah.

The dynamics of terrorism in the global sphere has been on the rise and this can be mainly attributed to the single attack that was waged against the United States on 11 September 2001. This attack culminated in a global awareness and it has triggered subsequent attacks from both old and new terrorist organisations. Some terrorist organisations have changed their ways of operations so that they can be more destructive and become known. But the major international problem till now remains the delay in having a universally acceptable definition of terrorism and what can or cannot be accepted as terrorism. Hence, over the years, terrorism has thrived and gone unnoticed in various countries across the African continent. About 5 years ago, very little work covered terrorism in West Africa or Nigeria; some scholars worked on studies that were more focused on the struggle for resource control and militancy involved in that. But the spate of attacks in Nigeria emphasised for a need for scholars to work on terrorism in Nigeria at all levels. The Nigerian society has been going through a serious ongoing battle with militants and also the Islamic insurgents, called Boko Haram, which is alleged to be affiliated to Al-Qaeda. These patterns of terrorism have been fueled by political, religious, ethnic and financial reasons. This research is an explanation and description of the factors responsible for terrorism in Nigeria; the profiling of old and new terrorism; the emergence of new types of terrorism which have sprung up from existing and new patterns. Also, external influences have aided the emergence of such combinations in Nigeria. This study will also look at the similarity between Nigeria and the defunct Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In addition, the existing measures to tackle terrorism will be analysed, which include, national and regional joint military initiatives. Recommendations will be offered to assist further researches and the government in understanding the mechanisms of terrorism in Nigeria, so that it can be effectively tackled. Hence, the research was able to pinpoint the types of terrorism (old and external influence) and the causal factors of terrorism which have led to the emergence of groups such as Boko Haram, JAMBS and MEND in Nigeria. The research also established the roles of national and regional organizations in tackling terrorism. One of the measures introduced by the Nigerian government was the amnesty program.
Thesis (M.Soc Sc (International Relations) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2013

The Boko Haram conflict in northern Nigeria has generated immense scholarly interest since it began in 2010. Much of this interest has centred on advancing counterinsurgency policy prescriptions. There are two dominant approaches in the generic counterinsurgency literature: enemy-centric counterinsurgency, which involves the use of brute force to eliminate insurgents and population-centric counterinsurgency, which entails the use of persuasive means to end an insurgency. The counterinsurgency scholarship on Boko Haram is dominated by scholars that advance the latter approach. These scholars argue that the Boko Haram insurgency is a result of the socio-economic challenges that beset northern Nigeria, hence the government should adopt a policy of dialogue with the group and implement socio-economic reforms. However, there is a disjuncture between this policy prescription and Boko Haram’s Salafi-driven objective of establishing an Islamic Caliphate. Thus, this thesis answers the following question: given the Salafi ideology of BH, can population-centric counterinsurgency be an effective state response? I explored this question based on the theories of Weinstein (2007) and Ugarriza & Craig (2013): the notion that the factors that influence the emergence of an insurgent group continues to shape the group’s attitudes, emotions and dispositions. In answering my question, I explored the history of Islamic fundamentalism in northern Nigeria in order to ascertain the outcome of the government’s accommodation of Islamist demands in the past. Using textual analysis, I also examined the speeches of Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, in order to identify the group’s specific objectives and understand its disposition to dialogue. Based on the historical exploration and analysis of Shekau’s speeches, I argued that whereas the implementation of socio-economic reforms can win over potential Boko Haram recruits, neither dialogue nor socio-economic reforms can convince the existing Boko Haram members and leaders to stop fighting.
Graduate