Why Violence? Why Terrorism? Lessons from Nigeria's Boko Haram

Murray, Mekaila

Publication

Why Violence? Why Terrorism? Lessons from Nigeria's Boko Haram

Murray, Mekaila

Date

2017

Additional date(s)

2017-05-19

Abstract

Why do certain groups resort to violence in the form of terrorism? To answer this question, this analysis presents a hypothesis-generating case study of Boko Haram in Nigeria. It takes a deep dive into understanding the group's motives and justification for violence. After establishing the context of previous studies of terrorism to provide an analytical lens, it then presents Nigeria's relevant political, religious, social, economic, and educational context, and then focuses on Boko Haram and its motivations/actions, relying on a variety of qualitative evidence including the studies of interviews from alleged members. The study concludes by drawing out hypotheses about the role of Nigeria's history, its religious interpretations, the poor status of Nigeria's economy, and the corrupt Westernized political system in the region as factors in Boko Haram's motivations/ actions, and the broad implications of these findings for studies of and policies toward terrorism.