4 - The Emerging Architecture of a Regional Security Complex in the Lake Chad Basin
Corresponding Author(s) : Usman A. Tar
Africa Development,
Vol. 42 No. 3 (2017): Africa Development: Special Issue on Security Regimes in Africa – Prospects and Challenges
Abstract
This article explores the emerging regional security architecture to fight terrorism and insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin (LCB). It diagnoses the evolution of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) as a sub-regional organization that unites Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. In particular, the article critically investigates recent efforts by some members of the LCBC to create regional security architecture under the aegis of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to fight terrorism and insurgency within the Basin. The article argues that this new security mechanism in the Chad Basin is largely driven by resource geopolitics, regional security and Nigeria’s quest for hegemonic stability. It is argued that historical contradictions, linguistic differences, resource geopolitics, hegemonic politics, and local national politics have also hampered meaningful progress and undermined the basis for erecting robust new security architecture in Africa’s LCB.
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- Acharya, A., 2014, Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the problem of regional order: London, Routledge.
- Addison, T. and Murshed, S.M., 2002, ‘On the Economic Causes of Contemporary Civil Wars’ in Murshed, S.M., ed., Issues in Positive Political Economy, London: Routledge.
- Alagappa, M., 1995, ‘Regionalism and Conflict Management: a framework for analysis’, Review of International Studies 21: 359–87.
- Ayers, A.J., 2010, ‘Sudan’s Uncivil War: The Global-historical Constitution of Political Violence’, Review of African Political Economy 37 (124): 153–71.
- Ayu, A., 2015, ‘Chad Oil Exploration Fanning Insurgency’, http://www.punchng.com/news/chad-oil-exploration-fanning-insurgency-iyorchia-ayu/.
- Buzan, B., 1991, People, States and Fear: An Agenda for International Security Studies in the Post-Cold War Era, England: Pearson.
- Buzan, B. and Wæver, O., 2003, Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Bodansky, Y., 2015, ‘Boko Haram: No Longer Just a Threat to the State of Nigeria but to the Entire Continent of Africa and the West’, ISPSW Strategy Series: Focus on Defense and International Security Issue no. 132, available at http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital.
- Cooke J.G., 2016, ‘Now Comes the Hard Part: Five Priorities in the Continuing Fight against Boko Haram’, http://csis.org/publication/now-comes-hard-part-five-priorities-continuing-fight-against-boko-haram.
- Daily Post, 2016, ‘Boko Haram: FG Signs MoU on Citing of MNJTF Intelligence Headquarters in Abuja’, available at http://dailypost.ng.
- Daily Trust, 2016, ‘Slow Take Off of Multinational Force: Boko Haram Regroups at Border Villages’, http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/slow-take-off-of-multinational-force-boko-haram-regroups-in-border-villages/116358.html.
- de Soysa, I., 2000, ‘The Resource Curse: Are Civil Wars Driven by Rapacity or Paucity?’ in Berdal, M. and Malone, D., eds, Greed and Grievances: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner.
- Deutsch, K., 1957, Political Community and the North Atlantic Area, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Didymus, J.H., 2014, ‘Boko Haram Crisis and the Regional Geopolitics of Oil’, http://ends.ng/boko-haram-crisis-and-the-regional-geopolitics-of-oil-part-1-by-john-thomas-didymus/.
- Economist, 2014, ‘Africa’s Jihadists, On Their Way’, 412, no. 8897: 13.
- Ellis, S., 1998, ‘Liberia’s Warlord Insurgency’ in Clapham, C., ed., African Guerrillas, Oxford: James Currey.
- Eveslage, B.S., 2013, ‘Clarifying Boko Haram’s Transnational Intentions, Using Content Analysis of Public Statement in 2012’, Perspectives on Terrorism 7(5): 47–76.
- Fearon, J.D. and Laitin, D.D., 2000, ‘Violence and the Social Construction of Ethnic Identity’, International Organisation 54 (4): 845–77.
- Flemes, D. and Lobell, S.E., 2015, ‘Contested Leadership in International Relations’, International Politics 52 (42): 139–45.
- Francis, D.J., 2001, The Politics of Economic Regionalism: Sierra Leone in ECOWAS, Aldershot (UK): Ashgate.
- Hanlon, J., 2006, ‘Ethnicity and Identity’ in Yanacopulos, H. and Hanlon, J., eds, Civil Wars, Civil Peace, Oxford: James Currey.
- Heupel, M., 2007, ‘Adapting to Transnational Terrorism: The UN Security Council’s Evolving Approach to Terrorism’, Security Dialogue 38 (4): 477–99.
- Homer-Dixon, T.F., 1994, ‘Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict: Evidence from Cases’, International Security 19: 1–40.
- Ifabiyi, I.P., 2013, ‘Recharging the Lake Chad: The Hydro-politics of National Security and Regional Integration in Africa’. African Research Review 7 (30): 196–216.
- International Crisis Group, 2014, ‘Curbing Violence in Nigeria (II): The Boko Haram Insurgency’, Africa Report no. 216, April.
- Janguza, U., 2015, ‘Understanding Chad’s Intervention in Nigeria’, http://uashamaki.blogspot.com.ng/2015/02/understanding-chads-intervention-in.html/.
- John, D., 2016, ‘Africa’s Road to the War on Terror’ in John, D., ed., Africa and the War on Terrorism, London: Routledge.
- Joseph, R., 1987, Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Kagwanja, P., 2006, ‘Counter-terrorism in the Horn of Africa: New Security Frontiers, Old Strategies’, African Security Review 15 (3): 72–86.
- Kaplan, R., 1994, The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post-Cold War, New York: Vintage.
- Klapper, B., 2015, ‘The U.S Warns of Link between Islamic State and Boko Haram’, Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/. Lewis, P., 1996, ‘From Prebendalism to Predation: The Political Economy of Decline in Nigeria’, Journal of Modern African Studies 34 (1): 79–103.
- Lumina, C., 2008, ‘Terror in the Backyard: Domestic Terrorism in Africa and Its Impact on Human Rights’, African Security Review 17 (4): 112–32.
- Nafziger, E.W. and Auvinen, J., 2002, ‘Economic Development, Inequality, War and State Violence’, World Development 30 (2): 153–63.
- Onapajo, H., 2013, ‘Why Nigeria is Not Winning the Anti-Boko Haram War’ in Mantzikos, I., ed., Boko Haram: Anatomy of a Crisis, Bristol: e-International Relations.
- Onuoha, F.C., 2009, ‘Environmental Degradation, Livelihood and Conflict: A Focus on the Implications of the Diminishing Water Resources of the Lake Chad for North-eastern Nigeria’, African Journal on Conflict Resolution 8 (2): 35–61.
- Onuoha, F.C., 2014, ‘A Danger Not to Nigeria Alone: Boko Haram’s Transnational Reach and Regional Responses’, available at http://www.library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/nigeria/.
- Oputu, D. and Lilley, K., 2015, ‘Boko Haram and Escalating Regional Terror’, http://soufangroup.com/tsg-intelbrief-boko-haram-and-escalating-regional-terror.
- Premium Times, 2015, ‘Buhari Rejects Proposal for Chad, Niger, Others to Head Central Force against Boko Haram’, available at http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/.
- Reno, W., 1999, Warlord Politics and African States, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
- Ross, M., 1999, ‘The Political Economy of the Resource Curse’, World Politics 51: 297–322.
- Sergie, M.A. and Johnson, T., 2015, ‘Boko Haram: A Backgrounder’, Council on Foreign Relations, available at http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739.
- Siegle, J., 2013, ‘Boko Haram and the Isolation of Northern Nigeria: Regional and International Implications’ in Mantzikos, I., ed., Boko Haram: Anatomy of a Crisis, Bristol: e-International Relations.
- Soderbaum, F., 2001, ‘Turbulent Regionalization in West Africa’ in Schulz, M., Fredrik, S. and Joakim, O., eds, Regionalization in a Globalising World: A Comparative Perspective on Forms, Actors and Processes, London, New York: Zed Books.
- Soderbaum, F. and Taylor, I., eds, 2008, Afro-regions: The Dynamics of Cross- border Micro-regionalism in Africa, Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
- Théroux-Bénoni, L.A., 2015, ‘The Fight against Boko Haram Tangled up in Nigerian and Regional Politics’, Institute for Security Studies, https://www.issafrica.org/iss-today/the-fight-against-boko-haram-tangled-up-in-nigerian-and-regional-politics.
- This Day, 2015, ‘UN Security Council Demands Boko Haram End All Violence in Lake Chad Basin’, available at http://www.thisdaylive.com.
- Ubi, E.N and Akinkuotu, O.O., 2014, ‘Nigerian Foreign Policy and Economic Development, 1999-2013’, International Area Studies Review 17 (4): 414–33.
- Umara, I., 2014, National Interest and Foreign Policy Options for Nigeria in the Central African Sub-region, Kaduna: Joyce Publishers.
- Vanguard, 2016, ‘Buhari Hosts French President, Hollande, Biya, Others at Abuja Security Summit’, available at http://www.vanguardngr.com.
- Walter, B., 1999, ‘Conclusion’ in Walter, B. and Snyder, J., eds, Civil Wars, Insecurity and Intervention, New York: Columbia University Press.
References
Acharya, A., 2014, Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the problem of regional order: London, Routledge.
Addison, T. and Murshed, S.M., 2002, ‘On the Economic Causes of Contemporary Civil Wars’ in Murshed, S.M., ed., Issues in Positive Political Economy, London: Routledge.
Alagappa, M., 1995, ‘Regionalism and Conflict Management: a framework for analysis’, Review of International Studies 21: 359–87.
Ayers, A.J., 2010, ‘Sudan’s Uncivil War: The Global-historical Constitution of Political Violence’, Review of African Political Economy 37 (124): 153–71.
Ayu, A., 2015, ‘Chad Oil Exploration Fanning Insurgency’, http://www.punchng.com/news/chad-oil-exploration-fanning-insurgency-iyorchia-ayu/.
Buzan, B., 1991, People, States and Fear: An Agenda for International Security Studies in the Post-Cold War Era, England: Pearson.
Buzan, B. and Wæver, O., 2003, Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bodansky, Y., 2015, ‘Boko Haram: No Longer Just a Threat to the State of Nigeria but to the Entire Continent of Africa and the West’, ISPSW Strategy Series: Focus on Defense and International Security Issue no. 132, available at http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital.
Cooke J.G., 2016, ‘Now Comes the Hard Part: Five Priorities in the Continuing Fight against Boko Haram’, http://csis.org/publication/now-comes-hard-part-five-priorities-continuing-fight-against-boko-haram.
Daily Post, 2016, ‘Boko Haram: FG Signs MoU on Citing of MNJTF Intelligence Headquarters in Abuja’, available at http://dailypost.ng.
Daily Trust, 2016, ‘Slow Take Off of Multinational Force: Boko Haram Regroups at Border Villages’, http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/slow-take-off-of-multinational-force-boko-haram-regroups-in-border-villages/116358.html.
de Soysa, I., 2000, ‘The Resource Curse: Are Civil Wars Driven by Rapacity or Paucity?’ in Berdal, M. and Malone, D., eds, Greed and Grievances: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner.
Deutsch, K., 1957, Political Community and the North Atlantic Area, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
Didymus, J.H., 2014, ‘Boko Haram Crisis and the Regional Geopolitics of Oil’, http://ends.ng/boko-haram-crisis-and-the-regional-geopolitics-of-oil-part-1-by-john-thomas-didymus/.
Economist, 2014, ‘Africa’s Jihadists, On Their Way’, 412, no. 8897: 13.
Ellis, S., 1998, ‘Liberia’s Warlord Insurgency’ in Clapham, C., ed., African Guerrillas, Oxford: James Currey.
Eveslage, B.S., 2013, ‘Clarifying Boko Haram’s Transnational Intentions, Using Content Analysis of Public Statement in 2012’, Perspectives on Terrorism 7(5): 47–76.
Fearon, J.D. and Laitin, D.D., 2000, ‘Violence and the Social Construction of Ethnic Identity’, International Organisation 54 (4): 845–77.
Flemes, D. and Lobell, S.E., 2015, ‘Contested Leadership in International Relations’, International Politics 52 (42): 139–45.
Francis, D.J., 2001, The Politics of Economic Regionalism: Sierra Leone in ECOWAS, Aldershot (UK): Ashgate.
Hanlon, J., 2006, ‘Ethnicity and Identity’ in Yanacopulos, H. and Hanlon, J., eds, Civil Wars, Civil Peace, Oxford: James Currey.
Heupel, M., 2007, ‘Adapting to Transnational Terrorism: The UN Security Council’s Evolving Approach to Terrorism’, Security Dialogue 38 (4): 477–99.
Homer-Dixon, T.F., 1994, ‘Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict: Evidence from Cases’, International Security 19: 1–40.
Ifabiyi, I.P., 2013, ‘Recharging the Lake Chad: The Hydro-politics of National Security and Regional Integration in Africa’. African Research Review 7 (30): 196–216.
International Crisis Group, 2014, ‘Curbing Violence in Nigeria (II): The Boko Haram Insurgency’, Africa Report no. 216, April.
Janguza, U., 2015, ‘Understanding Chad’s Intervention in Nigeria’, http://uashamaki.blogspot.com.ng/2015/02/understanding-chads-intervention-in.html/.
John, D., 2016, ‘Africa’s Road to the War on Terror’ in John, D., ed., Africa and the War on Terrorism, London: Routledge.
Joseph, R., 1987, Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kagwanja, P., 2006, ‘Counter-terrorism in the Horn of Africa: New Security Frontiers, Old Strategies’, African Security Review 15 (3): 72–86.
Kaplan, R., 1994, The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post-Cold War, New York: Vintage.
Klapper, B., 2015, ‘The U.S Warns of Link between Islamic State and Boko Haram’, Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/. Lewis, P., 1996, ‘From Prebendalism to Predation: The Political Economy of Decline in Nigeria’, Journal of Modern African Studies 34 (1): 79–103.
Lumina, C., 2008, ‘Terror in the Backyard: Domestic Terrorism in Africa and Its Impact on Human Rights’, African Security Review 17 (4): 112–32.
Nafziger, E.W. and Auvinen, J., 2002, ‘Economic Development, Inequality, War and State Violence’, World Development 30 (2): 153–63.
Onapajo, H., 2013, ‘Why Nigeria is Not Winning the Anti-Boko Haram War’ in Mantzikos, I., ed., Boko Haram: Anatomy of a Crisis, Bristol: e-International Relations.
Onuoha, F.C., 2009, ‘Environmental Degradation, Livelihood and Conflict: A Focus on the Implications of the Diminishing Water Resources of the Lake Chad for North-eastern Nigeria’, African Journal on Conflict Resolution 8 (2): 35–61.
Onuoha, F.C., 2014, ‘A Danger Not to Nigeria Alone: Boko Haram’s Transnational Reach and Regional Responses’, available at http://www.library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/nigeria/.
Oputu, D. and Lilley, K., 2015, ‘Boko Haram and Escalating Regional Terror’, http://soufangroup.com/tsg-intelbrief-boko-haram-and-escalating-regional-terror.
Premium Times, 2015, ‘Buhari Rejects Proposal for Chad, Niger, Others to Head Central Force against Boko Haram’, available at http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/.
Reno, W., 1999, Warlord Politics and African States, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Ross, M., 1999, ‘The Political Economy of the Resource Curse’, World Politics 51: 297–322.
Sergie, M.A. and Johnson, T., 2015, ‘Boko Haram: A Backgrounder’, Council on Foreign Relations, available at http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739.
Siegle, J., 2013, ‘Boko Haram and the Isolation of Northern Nigeria: Regional and International Implications’ in Mantzikos, I., ed., Boko Haram: Anatomy of a Crisis, Bristol: e-International Relations.
Soderbaum, F., 2001, ‘Turbulent Regionalization in West Africa’ in Schulz, M., Fredrik, S. and Joakim, O., eds, Regionalization in a Globalising World: A Comparative Perspective on Forms, Actors and Processes, London, New York: Zed Books.
Soderbaum, F. and Taylor, I., eds, 2008, Afro-regions: The Dynamics of Cross- border Micro-regionalism in Africa, Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
Théroux-Bénoni, L.A., 2015, ‘The Fight against Boko Haram Tangled up in Nigerian and Regional Politics’, Institute for Security Studies, https://www.issafrica.org/iss-today/the-fight-against-boko-haram-tangled-up-in-nigerian-and-regional-politics.
This Day, 2015, ‘UN Security Council Demands Boko Haram End All Violence in Lake Chad Basin’, available at http://www.thisdaylive.com.
Ubi, E.N and Akinkuotu, O.O., 2014, ‘Nigerian Foreign Policy and Economic Development, 1999-2013’, International Area Studies Review 17 (4): 414–33.
Umara, I., 2014, National Interest and Foreign Policy Options for Nigeria in the Central African Sub-region, Kaduna: Joyce Publishers.
Vanguard, 2016, ‘Buhari Hosts French President, Hollande, Biya, Others at Abuja Security Summit’, available at http://www.vanguardngr.com.
Walter, B., 1999, ‘Conclusion’ in Walter, B. and Snyder, J., eds, Civil Wars, Insecurity and Intervention, New York: Columbia University Press.