UN Peacekeeping and Counter-Terrorism
There are strong calls to give UN peacekeeping operations more robust mandates to engage in counter-terrorism tasks. But the idea of UN peacekeepers conducting counter-terrorism operations is not without its […]
Tag Archives: Sahel
Time to Talk to Boko Haram?
Now that Boko Haram has been significantly decimated, should Nigeria and its international partners begin to consider a political approach through negotiations with the group? Nigerians heaved a heavy sigh […]
Does Climate Change Cause Conflicts in the Sahel?
Droughts can potentially help escalate conflicts, but empirical evidence from the Sahel suggests that the root causes of land disputes are more historical and political than climate driven. The climate-conflict […]
Nomadism, Land Disputes and Security
Violence between nomads and sedentary populations has become widespread across the globe and there is an urgent need to address the root causes of this escalation of violence. Conflicts between […]
Q&A: Boko Haram in Cameroon
In May 2014, Cameroon declared war on Boko Haram at the Paris Summit. Since then, Boko Haram has intensified its activities in the Far North Region of the country, making […]
Boko Haram: Can a Peace Deal be Negotiated?
Recent talk of peace negotiations in Chad and a ceasefire between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram were a sham. So is negotiating with Boko Haram even possible? What might be the terms on which a political settlement could be reached, and with whom?
Too Quiet on the Western Front? The Sahel-Sahara between Arab Spring and Black Spring
While the world’s attention has been focused on the US-led military interventions in Iraq and Syria a quieter build-up of military assets has been ongoing along the newer, western front of the War on Terror as the security crises in Libya and northeast Nigeria escalate and the conflict in northern Mali proves to be far from over. In the face of revolutionary change in Burkina Faso, the efforts of outsiders to enforce an authoritarian and exclusionary status quo across the Sahel-Sahara look increasingly fragile and misdirected.
Quiet Legacies and Long Shadows: The Obama era of counterterrorism in the Sahel-Sahara
Despite the crumbling façade of its interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US is preparing for a new century of ‘light footprint’ warfare, using Africa as its laboratory.
Boko Haram: Completing the circle of liberal interventionism?
Following the abduction of over 200 school girls from Chibok in northern Nigeria, clarion calls on social media for action in Africa have once again become an excuse to flex military muscle, as the rhetoric of ‘humanitarian’ interventions is increasingly outfitted with the tactics of the war on terror.
The Costs of Security Sector Reform: Questions of Affordability and Purpose
In considering security sector reform, questions of affordability have often been subordinated to questions of effectiveness and expediency. A recent series of reviews of security expenditures by the World Bank and other actors in Liberia, Mali, Niger and Somalia has highlighted several emerging issues around the (re)construction of security institutions in fragile and conflict-affected states.