Nigeria is the most dynamic country on the African continent. Yet the legacy of colonialism, deep-rooted corruption, exposure to climate change and the proliferation of small arms have created a precarious security situation that holds back the country's potential for peace and prosperity. Security in Nigeria explores the many security threats facing Nigeria and assesses the government's responses to date. With contributors spanning three continents, it provides an original and comprehensive analysis of 'old' and 'new' security threats and offers original solutions to address the crisis.

This book explores the rise and impact of violent non-state actors in contemporary Africa and the implications for the sovereignty and security of African states. Each chapter tackles a unique angle on violent organizations on the continent with the view of highlighting the conditions that lead to the rise and radicalization of these groups. The chapters further examine the ways in which governments have responded to the challenge and the national, regional and international strategies that they have adopted as a result. Chapter contributors to this volume examine the emergence of Islamist terrorists in Nigeria, Mali and Libya; rebels in DR Congo, Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Rwanda; and warlords and pirates in Somalia, Uganda and Sierra Leone.

Games-based teaching offers an engaging way for students and adult learners to interact with concepts and build their problem-solving and communication skills. This exciting book will help educators integrate games into their classes and shows how this method of teaching improves motivation, as well as diversifies and solidifies learners' skill sets. Bringing together expert contributors from the Professors Without Borders' global network who have effectively used interactive games-based approaches in their teaching, the book features 13 unique games that teach a wide variety of skills across a range of difficulty levels. The chapters highlight the skills of strategy, decision-making, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, reflective thinking and empathy being used by participants alongside the pedagogical principles that underpin each game. Suitable for online and in-person teaching, this book will be valuable reading for educators working with student and adult learners looking to adopt innovative and interactive teaching methods, as well as those interested in learning about how game-based teaching can improve vital skills.

Games-based teaching offers an engaging way for students and adult learners to interact with concepts and build their problem-solving and communication skills. This exciting book will help educators integrate games into their classes and shows how this method of teaching improves motivation, as well as diversifies and solidifies learners' skill sets. Bringing together expert contributors from the Professors Without Borders' global network who have effectively used interactive games-based approaches in their teaching, the book features 13 unique games that teach a wide variety of skills across a range of difficulty levels. The chapters highlight the skills of strategy, decision-making, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, reflective thinking and empathy being used by participants alongside the pedagogical principles that underpin each game. Suitable for online and in-person teaching, this book will be valuable reading for educators working with student and adult learners looking to adopt innovative and interactive teaching methods, as well as those interested in learning about how game-based teaching can improve vital skills.

Written in the middle of a pandemic, this book examines the effect of COVID-19 on regional and global security threats in the first 18 months of the crisis. Throughout history, epidemics have disrupted human civilisations, changed the structure of societies, decided the outcome of wars and prompted incredible technological innovation. Despite massive progress in science, institution-building and cooperation over the past 100 years, COVID-19 has revealed the weaknesses of a world under-prepared for a new disease - that had been widely expected and long overdue! This edited volume brings together leading security experts from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East to share their analysis of the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on major security threats, including the rise of terrorists and criminal networks and global power politics. The book highlights important lessons learnt from all corners of the planet, in particular the need for cross-sectional, regional and international cooperation and solidarity when it comes to facing any transnational security threat that does not respect political boundaries.

This book assesses the use of 'mercenaries' by states, and their integration into the national armed forces as part of a new hybridisation trend of contemporary armies. Governments, especially in the West, are undertaking an unprecedented wave of demilitarisation and military budget cuts. Simultaneously, these same governments are increasingly opening their armies up to foreign nationals and outsourcing military operations to private companies. This book explores the impact of this hybridisation on the values, cohesion and effectiveness of the armed forces by comparing and contrasting the experiences of the French Foreign Legion, private military companies in Angola, and the merging of private contractors and American troops in Iraq. Examining the employment of foreign citizens and private security companies as military forces and tools of foreign policy, and their subsequent impact on the national armed forces, the book investigates whether the difficulties of coordinating soldiers of various nationalities and allegiances within public-private joint military operations undermines the legitimacy of the state. Furthermore, the author questions whether this trend for outsourcing security can realistically provide a long term and positive contribution to national security. This book will be of much interest to students of private military companies, strategic studies, international security and IR in general.

A comprehensive analysis of the rise of Boko Haram from a small religious cult to a major terrorist group, placing them within the context of Nigerian politics and the international War on Terror. In 2009, Nigerian security forces stormed a religious cult by the name of Boko Haram, killing its leader and thousands of followers. Six years later, Boko Haram is an enemy to reckon with, boasting 15,000 members and taking credit for 20,000 deaths. This book looks at the successful rise of this terrorist group, probing the religious and political environment that enabled a relatively small cult to threaten a nation. The study draws on the author's fieldwork in Nigeria, where she had access to officials, activists, psychologists, and military personnel. Written in a clear and accessible manner, it offers a micro-to-macro investigation of the Boko Haram as a phenomenon. It also provides readers with an understanding of the regional dynamics that obstructed political and military cooperation among neighboring countries, enabling Boko Haram's success. This book traces the group's religious origins in the early 2000s and documents its violent political claims in Nigeria and across the border in Northern Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. Finally, it examines the impact of the international War on Terror and presents a comparative study of other contemporary terrorism movements and their networks. Takes a comprehensive approach to the political, historical, social, economic, and international dynamics that enabled the rise and transformation of Boko Haram Draws on field work in Nigeria, including interviews with military representatives, politicians, activists, psychologists, security operatives, and victims of the Boko Haram war Offers a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Nigeria at a crucial point in its history Makes an original contribution to the study of violent non-state actors by examining similarities and differences between Boko Haram and other like-minded terrorist movements

This book explores the rise and impact of violent non-state actors in contemporary Africa and the implications for the sovereignty and security of African states. Each chapter tackles a unique angle on violent organizations on the continent with the view of highlighting the conditions that lead to the rise and radicalization of these groups. The chapters further examine the ways in which governments have responded to the challenge and the national, regional and international strategies that they have adopted as a result. Chapter contributors to this volume examine the emergence of Islamist terrorists in Nigeria, Mali and Libya; rebels in DR Congo, Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Rwanda; and warlords and pirates in Somalia, Uganda and Sierra Leone.

This book assesses the use of mercenaries by states, and their integration into the national armed forces as part of a new hybridisation trend of contemporary armies.

Governments, especially in the West, are undertaking an unprecedented wave of demilitarisation and military budget cuts. Simultaneously, these same governments are increasingly opening their armies up to foreign nationals and outsourcing military operations to private companies. This book explores the impact of this hybridisation on the values, cohesion and effectiveness of the armed forces by comparing and contrasting the experiences of the French Foreign Legion, private military companies in Angola, and the merging of private contractors and American troops in Iraq.

Examining the employment of foreign citizens and private security companies as military forces and tools of foreign policy, and their subsequent impact on the national armed forces, the book investigates whether the difficulties of coordinating soldiers of various nationalities and allegiances within public-private joint military operations undermines the legitimacy of the state. Furthermore, the author questions whether this trend for outsourcing security can realistically provide a long term and positive contribution to national security.

This book will be of much interest to students of private military companies, strategic studies, international security and IR in general."

Written in the middle of a pandemic, this book examines the effect of COVID-19 on regional and global security threats in the first 18 months of the crisis. Throughout history, epidemics have disrupted human civilisations, changed the structure of societies, decided the outcome of wars and prompted incredible technological innovation. Despite massive progress in science, institution-building and cooperation over the past 100 years, COVID-19 has revealed the weaknesses of a world under-prepared for a new disease - that had been widely expected and long overdue! This edited volume brings together leading security experts from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East to share their analysis of the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on major security threats, including the rise of terrorists and criminal networks and global power politics. The book highlights important lessons learnt from all corners of the planet, in particular the need for cross-sectional, regional and international cooperation and solidarity when it comes to facing any transnational security threat that does not respect political boundaries.