Formation of Insurgent Groups: MEND and Boko Haram in Nigeria

Olayinka Ajala

Small Wars and Insurgencies, 2018, vol. 29, issue 1, 112-130

Abstract: Contrary to earlier notions that religious diversity, ethnicity and the lack of economic development are the main factors responsible for the surge of violence in Nigeria, this article argues that the means of attaining or retaining political authority by politicians are responsible for violent conflicts and the formation of insurgent groups. Using theories of patrimonialism and prebendalism, the article argues that political power and authority are often channelled for personal use in a predatory manner that results in the formation of insurgent groups. The aim of this article is to proffer a different analytical framework for the understanding of the formation of insurgent groups based on political authority.

Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/09592318.2018.1403744 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:fswixx:v:29:y:2018:i:1:p:112-130

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/fswi20

DOI: 10.1080/09592318.2018.1403744

Access Statistics for this article

Small Wars and Insurgencies is currently edited by Paul Rich

More articles in Small Wars and Insurgencies from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().