Episode 114 – Governance, Grievance and Violent Extremism in West Africa
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The Sahel has become the global epicenter for violent extremism. But is it really about religion, or is it just about bad governance?
In Episode 114 of Conflict and Development in Africa, Dr. Michael Nwankpa is joined by Dr. Zacharias Pieri & Professor Kevin Fridy to discuss their new book, Governance, Grievance, and Violent Extremism in West Africa.
We break down why military interventions; from France to Wagner Group keep failing. We also look at the terrifying reality in Mali right now, where the capital is effectively encircled, and ask the hard question: Do people in the hinterlands actually prefer jihadist rule over their own governments?
About the Guest
Dr. Zacharias Pieri is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of South Florida. Dr. Kevin Fridy is a Professor of Government and World Affairs at the University of Tampa.
Book Mentioned
Governance, Grievance, and Violent Extremism in West Africa: From the Caliphate to Great Power Competition.
About the Podcast
The Conflict & Development in Africa podcast brings experts from Africa and the world as guests to discuss critical conflict and development issues that affect Africa. Our guests include practitioners, academics, journalists, researchers, policy makers and advocates that are renowned and are nationally and internationally recognized for their work, expertise and contribution to conflict and development issues in Africa. Our audience includes policy makers, governments, researchers, students, businesses and anyone that is interested in conflict and development issues in Africa.
About the Host
Dr Michael Nwankpa has an extensive experience spanning over a decade studying, researching, writing and consulting on conflict and development issues in Africa.
Michael Nwankpa has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Roehampton, London, UK. He has held several research fellowships including as a Rice University Fellow and a terrorism research Fellow (past) at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism (START), University of Maryland. He is currently a fellow at the Royal United Service Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI) and a research fellow at the Geneva-based Centre on Armed Groups. Dr. Nwankpa has extensive experience studying counterterrorism and counterinsurgency strategies, advising relevant government development departments and security agencies, and consulting for multilateral organizations. Michael is the author of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, 1999-2021: A Militarized Democracy (Routledge 2022) and co-author of the seminal work on Boko Haram, The Boko Haram Reader: From Nigerian Preachers to the Islamic State (Oxford University Press/Hurst 2018). He has written several articles and is currently working on three book projects.