Insurgency, Terrorism, and Counterterrorism in Africa


Book Description

Insurgency, Terrorism, and Counterterrorism in Africa, edited by George Klay Kieh, Jr. and Kelechi A. Kalu, addresses the need for a systematic understanding and examination of insurgent movements and terrorist organizations, as well as state policies that instigate intrastate conflicts in African states. It examines and documents the tactics that are used by anti-government forces, states’ counterterrorism responses, and the human security impacts of insecurity on citizens across various communities in Africa. The contributors’ extensive research methods include case studies that explore activities of terrorist organizations like Al Shabaab, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and the Islamic State. It presents new and productive insights about counterterrorism strategies deployed by selected African states, the African Union, and the U.S. A historically rich and politically focused analysis of states as co-conspirators in terrorism-induced insecurity in Africa, this book challenges existing literature on terrorism that largely focuses on the actions of non-state entities. It provides practical insights to policymakers that desire to end insecurity and promote inclusive governance in Africa.




Routledge Handbook of Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency in Africa


Book Description

This book illustrates how Africa’s defence and security domains have been radically altered by drastic changes in world politics and local ramifications. First, the contributions of numerous authors highlight the transnational dimensions of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency in Africa and reveal the roles played by African states and regional organisations in the global war on terror. Second, the volume critically evaluates the emerging regional architectures of countering terrorism, insurgency, and organised violence on the continent through the African Union Counterterrorism Framework (AU-CTF) and Regional Security Complexes (RSC). Third, the book sheds light on the counterterrorism and counterinsurgency (CT-COIN) structures and mechanisms established by specific African states to contain, degrade, and eliminate terrorism, insurgency, and organised violence on the continent, particularly the successes, constraints, and challenges of the emerging CT-COIN mechanisms. Finally, the volume highlights the entry of non-state actors – such as civil society, volunteer groups, private security companies, and defence contractors – into the theatre of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency in Africa through volunteerism, community support for state-led CT-COIN Operations, and civil-military cooperation (CIMIC). This book will be of use to students and scholars of security studies, African studies, international relations, and terrorism studies, and to practitioners of development, defence, security, and strategy.




Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa


Book Description

Traditional counter-terrorism approaches, with their emphasis on the military, are failing. This is seen in the fact that there is an average of three terrorist attacks per day in Africa. This study calls for more holistic solutions, with an emphasis on development and better governance to curb the scourge of terrorism.




Mobility, Mobilization, and Counter/Insurgency


Book Description

In Mobility, Mobilization, and Counter/Insurgency, Daniel Agbiboa takes African insurgencies back to their routes by providing a transdisciplinary perspective on the centrality of mobility to the strategies of insurgents, state security forces, and civilian populations caught in conflict. Drawing on one of the world’s deadliest insurgencies, the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, this well-crafted and richly nuanced intervention offers fresh insights into how violent extremist organizations exploit forms of local immobility and border porosity to mobilize new recruits, how the state’s “war on terror” mobilizes against so-called subversive mobilities, and how civilian populations in transit are treated as could-be terrorists and subjected to extortion and state-sanctioned violence en route. The multiple and intersecting flows analyzed here upend Eurocentric representations of movement in Africa as one-sided, anarchic, and dangerous. Instead, this book underscores the contradictions of mobility in conflict zones as simultaneously a resource and a burden. Intellectually rigorous yet clear, engaging, and accessible, Mobility, Mobilization, and Counter/Insurgency is a seminal contribution that lays bare the neglected linkages between conflict and mobility.




Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency in Somalia


Book Description

This report analyzes the U.S. and allied campaign against the al Qa’ida–linked terrorist group al Shabaab in Somalia, examines what steps have been most successful against the group, and identifies potential recommendations. It concludes that, while al Shaba'ab was weakened between 2011 and 2016, the group could resurge if urgent steps are not taken to address the political, economic, and governance challenges at the heart of the conflict.




Terrorism in Africa


Book Description

Part of a series, this work is concerned with international terrorism, and deals with its manifestation in Africa. Among the events and topics covered are: the Entebbe rescue mission; African guerillas and indigenous governments; South Africa, terrorism and state disintegration; and more.




New Architecture of Regional Security in Africa


Book Description

This book critically explores the emerging architecture of regional security in Africa with particular reference to counterterrorism and counterinsurgency in the Lake Chad Basin Region. In New Architecture of Regional Security in Africa, the contributors--scholars, policy-makers, and defense/security practitioners from both within and outside Africa--examine the evolution, dynamics, and working mechanisms for peace and security or emerging regional security architecture for regional security in the region. The volume will be essential reading for all academics, scholars, and researchers in academia and NGOs with interests in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism related issues in the Lake Chad Basin region. Additionally, the volume will also be useful for students of counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, small wars, terrorism and strategic studies, and defense and security studies. It will also provide invaluable reference material for policy practitioners working on the activities in the contemporary operating environment within the Lake Chad Basin region. This book offers innovative perspectives on the emerging architecture for regional security in Africa, with a focus on how member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission are coping with the challenges of terrorism and insurgency. Edited by Usman A. Tar and Bashir Bala, the volume is the first to critically document regional security in the Lake Chad Basin.




The Islamic State in Africa


Book Description

In 2019, Islamic State lost its last remaining sliver of territory in Syria, and its Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed. These setbacks seemed to herald the Caliphate's death knell, and many now forecast its imminent demise. Yet its affiliates endure, particularly in Africa: nearly all of Islamic State's cells on the continent have reaffirmed their allegiance, attacks have continued in its name, many groups have been reinvigorated, and a new province has emerged. Why, in Africa, did the two major setbacks of 2019 have so little impact on support for Islamic State? The Islamic State in Africa suggests that this puzzle can be explained by the emergence and evolution of Islamic State's provinces in Africa, which it calls 'sovereign subordinates'. By examining the rise and development of eight Islamic State 'cells', the authors show how, having pledged allegiance to IS Central, cells evolved mostly autonomously, using the IS brand as a means for accrual of power, but, in practice, receiving relatively little if any direction or material support from central command. Given this pattern, IS Central's relative decline has had little impact on its African affiliates-who are likely to remain committed to the Caliphate's cause for the foreseeable future.




Battling Terrorism in the Horn of Africa


Book Description

"Examines the state of governance in the countries of the greater Horn of Africa region--Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, the Sudan, and Yemen--and discusses strategies to combat the transnational threat of terrorism, including suggestions for more effective U.S. engagement in the region"--Provided by publisher.




Terrorism, Instability, and Democracy in Asia and Africa


Book Description

A chilling, up-to-the-minute look at the links between political instability and terrorism in Asia and Africa