cancelled: ASCL Seminar Series: Islamist militancy in the Sahel: Critical reflections

Far from constituting the latest front in the machinations of Global Jihad, Inc. the intensification of Islamist militancy in the Sahel must be viewed as the result of local conditions where radical Islam has become a vehicle of mobilization for aggrieved populations. Utilizing insights from Critical Terrorism Studies, this seminar examines Islamist militancy through the lens of state failure, competing ethnic identities, climate change, economic variables exacerbated by globalization, and failed counter-terrorism policies. Draconian repression on the part of state elites, for instance in Mauritania, where democracy activists are labelled as extremists, has incensed public opinion. The fact that Nouakchott received military and financial support from Paris and Washington has only served to swell the ranks of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Strongly discriminatory policies directed at Tuaregs in Niger and the use of Songhai militias in northern Mali have also resulted in their alienation and recruitment into the ranks of the jihadists. Climate change coupled within desertification and rising food insecurity has facilitated youth recruitment into extremist organizations. Please register

ascleiden