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ABSTRACT
While representing a major military threat in Niger and Nigeria, the two branches of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP-Liptako Gourma and ISWAP-Lake Chad) have increasingly sought to win popular support (distinguishing themselves from other groups in the region, especially Boko Haram). Yet, despite some improvements in the recent past, both Niger’s and Nigeria’s different counterinsurgency practices have not been sufficiently adapted to (and therefore remain strategically misaligned vis-à-vis) ISWAP’s more population-centric approach. Strategic rethinking and realignment of the still predominantly enemy-centric approaches of both states are essential so that ISWAP strategy can be countered in the long term.
Notes
1 While the designation of ISWAP in Niger as ISWAP-Liptako Gourma and ISWAP-Lake Chad has been adopted for clarity, the nature of the relations between the two ISWAPs will be discussed below.
2 Interviews were carried out in Niamey and in Abuja during fieldwork from October 2019 until March 2020. A few interviews were done remotely via phone or online teleconferencing platforms.
3 Interview with retired General, Nigerian Army, Abuja, October 2019.
4 Interview with UK diplomatic official, via phone, November 2019.
5 Interview with Maiduguri-based researcher, via Zoom, April 2020.
6 While abundant literature has focused on the origins of Boko Haram as either originating from locally grounded dynamics between religion and politics (Thurston Citation2018) or as the local manifestation of developments in global Salafism (Zenn Citation2020), this debate is outside the scope of the article. For details on the Salafi political theology and Boko Haram see Brigaglia (Citation2015).
7 Interview with UK diplomatic official, via phone, November 2019.
8 Interview with European diplomat, Niamey, January 2020.
9 Interview with Nigerian think tank expert on ISWAP, Abuja, October 2019.
10 There are likely others that are unreported.
11 Interview with Maiduguri-based researcher, via Zoom, April 2020.
12 Interview with Maiduguri-based researcher, via Zoom, April 2020.
13 Interview with UN security expert, Niamey, March 2020.
14 Interview with local NGO officer, Niamey, November 2019.
15 Interview with humanitarian worker in Tillabéri, Niamey, November 2019.
16 Interview with UN officer, Niamey, February 2020.
17 Interview with convicted prisoner for terrorist acts, Kollo, Niger, February 2020.
18 Interview with Maiduguri-based researcher, via Zoom, April 2020.
19 Interview with Maiduguri-based researcher, via Zoom, April 2020.
20 Interview with Nigerian think tank expert on ISWAP, Abuja, October 2019.
21 Interview with Nigerian think tank expert on ISWAP, Abuja, October 2019.
22 Interview with women’s rights NGO official, Niamey, November 2019.
23 Interview with NGO official, Niamey, November 2019.
24 Interview with retired General, Nigerian Army, Abuja, October 2019.
25 Interview with Western diplomat, Abuja, via phone, November 2019.
26 Interview with Western diplomat, Abuja, via phone, November 2019.
27 Interview with Maiduguri-based researcher, via Zoom, April 2020.
28 Interview with local humanitarian official, Niamey, January 2020.
29 Interview with Western military trainer, Niamey, February 2020.
30 Interview with Nigerian think tank expert on ISWAP, Abuja, October 2019.
31 Interview with local civil society actor, Niamey, February 2020.
32 Interview with retired General, Nigerian Army, Abuja, October 2019.
33 Interview with Maiduguri-based researcher, via Zoom, April 2020.
34 Interview with Maiduguri-based researcher, via Zoom, April 2020.
35 Interview with security expert, Niamey, February 2020. The source confirmed that the actual death toll is higher than the official one (which stands at 89).
36 Interview with Western military trainer, Niamey, February 2020.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Laura Berlingozzi
Laura Berlingozzi is a PhD candidate in International Relations at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy, and a Visiting Fellow at the Recherche et Études en Politique Internationale (REPI) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Ed Stoddard
Ed Stoddard is a Marie Curie Research Fellow in Conflict Studies at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy, and a Principal Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @StoddardEd