Yesterday I published a piece at World Politics Review on assessing the threat that armed West African Muslim movements like Boko Haram might pose to the West. The piece is a sequel, in some sense, to two posts from earlier … Continue reading → […]

The Nigerian government, amid a military crackdown against the Boko Haram sect in the country’s northeast, is experimenting with measures that may lead to an amnesty for the group. These experiments seem like an effort to build good will with … Continue reading → […]

Yesterday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced that some 6,000 refugees have arrived to Niger from Nigeria, fleeing the Nigerian military’s offensive against Boko Haram. Reuters provides additional context. Refugees from Nigeria add to existing and recent refugee … Continue reading → […]

Professor Attahiru Jega, chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, at a recent event: INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, in Abuja on Monday attributed the success of the 2011 general elections to the commitment of the Nigerian media. [...] The … Continue reading → […]

I’ve written an article (.pdf) for the summer 2013 issue of the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. The piece is entitled, “Towards an ‘Islamic Republic of Mali’?” I analyze trends in Malian Muslim leaders’ public religiosity and political participation. An excerpt … Continue reading → […]

(Somehow I goofed and didn’t post this on May 28th, the day I wrote it. It’s still relevant, so I thought I would post it today. – Alex) Following the May 23 bombings in northern Niger, the country’s president, Mahamadou … Continue reading → […]

Africa in DC: “What Does Susan Rice’s Appointment as National Security Adviser Mean for Africa?” Bruce Whitehouse: As French troops hunted Islamist fighters in northern Mali this past winter, historian Greg Mann said that what was taking place in the … Continue reading → […]

Los Angeles Times: A battle over water has turned into a war of colorful rhetoric between Ethiopia and Egypt over the flow of the Nile, which begins in the African highlands but keeps Egypt from being swallowed entirely by desert. … Continue reading → […]

On June 1, violence occurred at a prison in Niamey, Niger. Initial, and partly conflicting, reports suggested that the violence came either from inmates or from external attackers, but the consensus now seems to be that inmates were responsible. Perhaps … Continue reading → […]

I am curious to hear readers’ reactions to two pieces that have appeared in recent weeks. These pieces, inspired by the recent bombings in Niger, treat interconnections between crises in different Northwest African countries, specifically Libya, Mali, and Niger. AFP: … Continue reading → […]