Regional Cooperation in West Africa: Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency

Abstract

The challenges of terrorism and insurgency have continued to attract regional response. A significant aspect of such response is the demonstration of shared responsibilities by various nation states in regional cooperation to stamp out the menace of terrorism. The EU member states for instance adopted a regional approach to counter transnational security threats by embracing common standards and unified approach to Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency (CT-COIN). Likewise in West Africa, the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) was recently reinvigorated to deal decisively with the cross-border terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin. This is in addition to other regional architecture that constitutes the needed ingredients of regional cooperation in West Africa. The operations and activities of these regional outfits have been destabilized by several challenges due to the peculiarities of security cooperation at a regional scale. Against this background, this article examines regional cooperation within the context of CT-COIN in West Africa with a view to establishing the challenges of such collaboration. The article unbundles the dynamics of terrorism and insurgency in West Africa. It engages the regional architecture for CT-COIN in the region and it underscores the challenges of regional cooperation. The article offers some measures for improving regional cooperation for an improved CT-COIN in West Africa.

Proliferation and Use of Improvised Explosive Devices in West Africa

“…While traditionally the study of IEDs in West Africa in the academic literature has been through the study of conflictualities and uses coupled with certain dynamics specific to groups employing IEDs (Pham, 2016), the study of incidents, technical issues, or flows specific to IEDs is gradually gaining attention in the region (Bala & Tar, 2021). The study of dual-use diversion processes and the trafficking of components, precursors, and materials seems to be gaining importance recently with a focus on the region (Hainard & Lochhead, 2021).…”

Trends in global governance and future scenarios 2030: GLOBE report

“…In Africa, the African Union's (AU) role in security governance has also risen in prominence, particularly since the launching of the AU's Common African Defence and Security Policy (CADSP). The involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in counter-terrorism efforts is also worth noting (Bala & Tar 2021).…”

Outside Sources of Terrorist Threats in West Africa

“…Yet, so far the MNJTF has been of limited range and effectiveness. It was hampered by conflicting interests among the member states, lack of political will and commitment, corruption, poor funding, linguistic differences and hegemonic politics as well as by the divide between Anglophone and Francophone countries (see map Grap 26, Appendix) and politics of rival former colonial powers Great Britain and France (Abada et al, 2020;Bala & Tar, 2021;.…”