An analysis on the development of militancy and violence in West Africa : the Niger Delta, the Maghreb and Sahel, Cote D'ivoire

Abstract

The African continent is infamous for its lawlessness, violence, poverty, corruption, underdevelopment, and militancy. These factors, such as corruption and underdevelopment, have been a direct result of mismanagement and inept leadership since independence. Through these factors, opposition groups formed to contest such actions. While such opposition was seen through peaceful measures, some groups have been led to the use of violence and militancy as a means of opposing the status quo. While there are opposition groups in every nation, the primary focus of this thesis is upon the reason for the development of opposition groups that have led to the active use of violence, force, and other extreme to measures to achieve their goals. This thesis seeks to demonstrate how peaceful opposition failed to be effective because of governmental policies and action taken against these differing groups. The first chapter develops the use of violence by militant groups in Nigeria such as MEND in the oil-producing region of Niger Delta, where oil profits and corruption have Jed to armed conflict between militants and government forces. Chapter two analyzes the development of the Tuareg militancy in the African Sahel and Maghreb, where a nomadic pastoralist minority have sought autonomy for over a century. The last chapter analyzes the breakdown of order and the emergence of civil war in the Cote d'Ivoire. With all three case studies, the paper emphasizes and analyzes how government policies and actions taken against the opposition has resulted in an extreme alienation of each group, which would lead to the use of violence to rectify past transgressions.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2010

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Sadri, Houman A.

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Political Science

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences;Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0022518

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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