Boko Haram's Evolving Threat
By J. Peter Pham. Africa Center for Strategic Studies, April 2012.
A surge in large-scale attacks over the past year by Nigerian Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram presents a serious threat to stability in West Africa’s most populous state and the world’s sixth largest oil exporter. The group has successfully expanded its geographic reach, mastered new sophisticated tactics, and targeted symbols of international presence in Nigeria. In this Africa Security Brief, J. Peter Pham assesses the significance of this upsurge, examines the origins and goals of this opaque group, and puts forward priorities for responding to this threat.
Download the Brief in: [ENGLISH]Nigeria's Pernicious Drivers of Ethno-Religious Conflict
By Chris Kwaja. Africa Center for Strategic Studies, July 2011.
Nigeria's long-running "indigene-settler" conflict in and around Jos, Plateau State has escalated in recent years and may spread to other ethnically mixed regions of the country, heightening instability. Navigating such inter-communal fault lines is a common challenge for many African societies that requires looking past symptoms to address systemic drivers. In Nigeria, this will entail measures that directly mitigate violence as well as realize constitutional reform.
Download the Brief in: [ENGLISH][FRENCH][PORTUGUESE]
Jonah Jang and the Jasawa: Ethno-Religious Conflict in Jos, Nigeria
By Philip Ostien. Muslim-Christian Relations in Africa, 2009. Ethnicity and religion have often been identified as the flashpoints that spark Nigeria's recurring communal conflicts, such as those in Jos. More commonly, politics is a primary driver and patronage the key to recruitment among the groups involved in the fighting. Clashes arise following disputes over districting and elections in Local Government Areas, the leadership of which decide land ownership, control social services and dispense "certificates of indigeneship" that define the application of many constitutional rights. Download the Article: [PDF]Blood Oil in the Niger Delta
By Judith Burdin Asuni. United States Institute of Peace, August 2009. Crude oil stolen between 2003 and 2008 in Nigeria amounted to approximately $100 billion – a practice that continues to threaten security in the Gulf of Guinea and the stability of world energy markets. Environmental, governance, law enforcement, politics, youth unemployment and a host of other obstacles converge and complicate the challenge of "blood oil." This reality demands multi-lateral approaches with targeted and sustained support to Nigerian efforts by the U.S. and international community. Download the Article: [PDF]
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