Terrorism And Counter-Terrorism An African Perspective

Description

Never has the global strategic climate been dominated by a single threat asterrorism is today. Terrorism has not only taken the central stage in the strategic calculation of the global community, it has also completely altered the shape of the global security equation. Apart from universalising the threat to international peace and security, terrorism has devalued the utility of the age-long strategic notion of security through state-centric grandiose military preparedness. While terrorism has become so pervading, many of the key role-players in the present efforts to deal with the problem have either failed completely, or are slow, to grasp the exact nature of the problem posed by terrorism. The result is that terrorist activities are spreading to new areas, including parts of Africa that were hitherto regarded as relatively safe.

Although Africa has not fallen into the mainstream of terrorist threat, the adverse socio-political conditions in the continent, brought about by misrule and bad governance, have steadily increased Africa’s vulnerability to terrorism. Hence the decision in this study to seriously examine the problem from an African perspective to bring into focus what African States need to know and do individually and collectively to protect the continent against the menace of global terrorism.

This volume is a product of extensive research by a group of selected Africanist scholars. The areas covered in this book have been carefully selected to ensure that, in finding solutions to the problem of terrorims as it affects the African continent, the experiences of other regions are not ignored. Consequently, this book strongly reflects not only the particularistic regional aspects of terrorism, but also the global nature of the problem. The book.therefore has a general appeal not only for all those involved in the efforts to find a lasting solution to the menace of terrorism, but the general reader as well.

ABOUT THE EDITORS
Thomas A. Imobighe
Professor Thomas Akhigbe Imobighe is an expert in defence and security studies. conflict/crisis management and peace studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Studies from the University of Wales. He is currently the Director of the Centre for Strategic and Development Studies, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. Among his recent publications are: Nigeria’s Defence and National Security Linkages: A Framework of Analysis (Heinemann, 2003); The OAU (AU) and OAS in Regional Conflict Management: A Comparative Assessment (Spectrum Books, 2003),and Civil Society and Ethnic Conflict Management in Nigerid (Spectrum Books, 2003).

Agatha Eguavoen
Dr. (Mrs.) Agatha Eguavoen is a Reader (Associate Professor) in the Department of Sociology, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Her current areas of research interest
include gender and inter-faith issues in conflict management and peace building, with particular attention to how women can play a more positive role in conflict management.