The Niger Delta region is the nerve of the Nigerian economy. The region has witnessed series of conflicts largely due to the oil resources therein. Violent militancy in the Niger Delta assumed a new dimension in the mid nineties as the residents...
This monograph discusses the propensity for conflict surrounding the diminishing water in Lake Chad. The shortage of water in the lake and its basin threatens regional economic development and the existence of the population in the area. The paper...
During a staff meeting at United States European Command (USEUCOM), while General James L. Jones was the USEUCOM commander, he said "Engineers are the maneuver force for Phase Zero operations." In this paper, I will argue why engineers should be...
The Republic of Mali since 1961 has been experiencing insurgency carried out by an ethnic group called Touareg in its northern regions, lying in the Sahara valley. That situation has significantly impaired the security, stability and development of...
Since early 2002, the U.S. military has relearned COIN at the tactical, operational and strategic levels of war for both special operations and conventional forces in order to meet the security and stability requirements of both Afghanistan and...
While Algeria was facing internal security issues with illegal Islamist armed groups in the 1990s, some Sahelian-Saharan states were reducing their institutional presence in their border region with Algeria. Mali was demilitarizing its northern...
Learning Counterinsurgency: Observations from Soldering in Iraq Lieutenant General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army The Army has gained a great deal of experience in Iraq and Afghanistan about COIN operations. Here, one of the Army's most experienced...
Following the period from 1957-1960, when most countries in West Africa broke loose from colonialism and became independent, the need for an integrated and classless society was one of paramount concern to most, if not all, West Africans. Up to...
Islamist violent extremists (VE) and violent extremist organizations (VEO) require a broad range of material, social, and financial support to organize, train, conduct operations, and sustain their ideologies and terrorist/insurgent endeavors....
Ethnic and religious clashes have continued in Africa’s most densely populated nation. Nigeria is a nation of vast human and natural resource potential that has experienced extreme strife during forty years of transition from colonial rule to...
There is no region of this world that not experienced wars, but while many parts of the world have moved towards greater political and economic stability and co-operation, sub-Saharan Africa remains a cauldron of instability and economic...
This study establishes guidelines for military planners to consider when employing combat heavy engineer battalions on nation assistance projects. The guidelines are based on analyzing the theories of nation assistance, assessing the capabilities...
The rise in the number of intra-state conflicts, following the end of the Cold War, and the reluctance of traditional extra regional actors to intervene, have thrust upon the region the onus of resolving its own conflicts. This determination to...
This study is on Religious-Based Violence and National Security in Nigeria: Nigeria is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society with enormous potential for economic, social, and democratic development. However, intense conflicts and violence that...
While in the past two decades, the region of West Africa has experienced various armed conflicts, a new security threat that has emerged is the growing threat of violence by radical Islamist groups. This phenomenon has assumed prominence in the...
The bitter lessons of history have taught West Africa that there are no longer respectable alternatives to democracy after the collapse of communism. Nonetheless, governance in West Africa in the 21st century remains the greatest problem because...
The military and the media are two important organizations critical to sustaining a democratic state. This study throws light on the media's perception of themselves as a neutral and powerful voice of the masses that often sees the military and her...
The end of the Cold War witnessed intensification of intrastate conflicts in the West African subregion. Prior to this era, the West African subregional body, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), had used traditional conflict...
West Africa is ripe for democratic development, but chronic instability impedes progress. This thesis describes the causes and extent of instability and concludes that the military is a major contributor. The question is how to prevent the military...