Boko Haram: From local grievances to global combat

In spring 2014 the fundamentalist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the abduction of more than 250 school girls. This incident was only adding to the killings of thousands in Northern Nigeria in various terror attacks the last decade. Boko Haram has been blamed for virtually every outbreak of violence in Nigeria in recent years and is now considered a global security threat. Less attention has been given to the complexity of national security and defense forces and their role in producing local insecurity and radicalization. This project investigates the internal and regional dynamics of terror in Nigeria by reviewing studies on Boko Haram and comparing it to other regional terror groups e.g. AQIM and Mujao in Mali. The purpose of the project is to unfold how terrorism is anchored not only in fundamentalism, but also in internal political, regional and social dynamics. In a Danish context the expertise on Boko Haram and Nigeria is almost non-existing.