ABSTRACT NATO’s relationship with Africa dates to colonial times. However, NATO’s pivot across Africa has continued unabated, given the threats to peace and security across the continent. Previous research on NATO’s involvement in Africa has focused chiefly on military intervention, such as in Libya. Little attention has been given to the need for cooperation through a clearly defined NATO Africa Strategy with the African Union, particularly in areas of mutual interest, such as peacekeeping. This paper examines the trends and nature of this “new relationship,” which focuses on cooperation in peacekeeping across the continent and its prospects, challenges, and opportunities.

ABSTRACT Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lida’awati Wal Jihad, or Boko Haram, started in northeastern Nigeria in 2002 as a religious group opposing secularization. By 2010, it had escalated to assassinations and large-scale abductions, forcing women into marriage and using them as suicide bombers. This paper examines Boko Haram through a feminist political economy perspective, utilizing primary and secondary data. It traces the group’s changing ideology by analyzing how it exploited gendered socio-economic structures. The paper shows how deep-rooted inequalities enabled Boko Haram to “weaponise” forms of sexual violence, strengthening its control through fear and terror.

ABSTRACT Sub-Saharan Africa recently experienced a rise in the frequency of military coups. Soldiers who take power often claim that their intervention will usher in development and eventually also real democracy. But do coups actually contribute to improving economic growth and democratic progress? We investigate the economic and political consequences of military takeovers by examining the 94 successful coups that took place across the sub-Saharan region between 1960 and 2023. Our findings show that in recent decades military coups had a negative impact on economic growth and, while often followed by a return to elections, they hardly led to democratic advancements.

ABSTRACT What social cohesion models are needed for sustainable and peaceful management of shared natural resources? This study looks at how farmers–herders conflicts are managed in northern Benin, using three case studies. Qualitative analyses of content and discourse were used to characterize the social cohesion construction models studied. These are geographical, dialogical, and collective-resilient models. Each model, with its own set of tools and processes, has its own advantages for context at different scales. These models are of significance in the maintenance of robust social relationships between farmers and herders, as well as the sustainable management of resources.

ABSTRACT This article critiques the GWoT by examining the dynamics of terrorism and counterterrorism in the Sahel. The author argues that two decades of US counterterrorism have been counterproductive, failing to reduce the threat of terrorism. Three fundamental critiques are identified: the macro-securitization of 9/11 attacks which led to overestimation of the threat posed by foreign terrorist organizations; security assistance to incompetent and authoritarian regimes; and false perception of the global reach of terrorist groups. These oversights have resulted in U.S. response that prioritizes a coercive, military-oriented counterterrorism strategy while neglecting the complex social, political, and economic factors that fuel extremism.

ABSTRACT Armed banditry in Northwestern Nigeria has led to widespread violence, yet there remains a scarcity of tools capturing the layered and context-specific nature of armed banditry. This study develops and validates the Banditry Exposure Scale (BES), using Carpenter’s ten-step framework and data from 600 households. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses reveal a two-factor structure, Serious and Extreme Violence, with strong reliability and validity (CFI = 0.901; CR > 0.90). The BES provides a context-sensitive, psychometrically sound instrument to capture layered victimization experiences. Findings offer insights for trauma-informed programming and advance the study of organized violence in under-researched, conflict-affected settings.

ABSTRACT What do Africa’s voting patterns at the United Nations on the Russia-Ukraine War say about the global (re)balance of power in a multipolar world? With some countries aligned with the West, a small fraction voted against, others abstained or maintained a neutral stance, this has necessitated debates on what constitutes neutrality and nonalignment in interstate wars. However, Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine reinforces contemporary theories of interstate conflict and warfare regarding states’ nonalignment and the politics of neutrality, thereby informing a novel discourse on the changing regional positionality and how it influences the global (re)balance of power.

ABSTRACT By drawing on literature on non-state foreign policy actors, we establish a first-cut understanding of the Wagner Group’s role in Russian foreign policy. We show how instrument, actor, and infrastructure denote variations in the functionality of the Wagner Group. We argue that the Wagner Group is characterized by its ability to adapt to new opportunities, and its liminality, enabling the group to take action unavailable to the Russian state. Our analysis illustrates the value of our conceptualization for understanding the group and other liminal non-state actors in African security by identifying the group’s impact on Sudanese and African security.

ABSTRACT A rich literature has argued for a nuanced and empirically grounded understanding of the incentives, roles, and practices of non-state actors in hybrid security governance. But what are the effects of state engagement with such actors? This article takes a state-centered approach to the ambiguities of vigilantism, exploring how state- and non-state actors operate as brothers in arms to forward their own interests and agendas. The analysis builds on long-term research engagement with three West African country cases, and centers on secondary data on official state responses to vigilantism and the contradictory practices of both state and non-state actors.