Assessing the Character of Contemporary US/UK Counter Terrorism Engagement in West Africa

研究问题：1.美国和英国如何应对西非日益增长的伊斯兰极端主义叛乱？2.这些接触是如何因地区反恐联盟的变化而形成的？3.这些接触如何影响反恐、冲突解决和地区治理轨迹？背景/理由：最近一波伊斯兰叛乱(萨赫勒的基地组织和乍得湖地区与ISIS结盟的博科圣地)深刻影响了西非的安全格局。作为回应，西方大国一直在重新配置其在该地区打击恐怖主义的努力，大多数学者将重点放在法国(该地区主要的外部主角)所扮演的强有力的干预者角色上。相比之下，尽管该地区存在重大安全和发展利益，但美国和英国正在发挥的作用(在训练、演习、后勤、监视和情报以及军事行动方面)在很大程度上被忽视了。为纠正这一差距，本项目评估了最近美国/英国在西非的军事/安全行动的特点，审查了反恐行动的驱动因素、区域安全联盟不断变化的形成(及其反应)以及对反恐、冲突解决和政治治理轨迹的影响。该项目预计将是一项基于精英访谈和话语分析的定性研究。它将支持DTP向ESRC全球挑战研究基金(GCRF--见下文)捐款。

Research Questions: 1. How have the USA and UK responded to increasing Islamist extremist insurgency in West Africa?2. How are these engagements shaped by changing regional counter-terrorism coalitions?3. How do these engagements affect counter terrorism, conflict resolution and regional governance trajectories?Background/Rationale: Recent waves of Islamist insurgency (Al Qaeda in the Sahel and ISIS-aligned Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region) have profoundly impacted the security landscape in West Africa. In response, Western powers have been re-configuring their efforts to combat terrorism in the region, with most scholarship focusing on the robust interventionist role taken by France (the main external protagonist in the region). By contrast, and despite major security and development interests in the region, the on-going US/UK role (in training, exercises, logistics, surveillance & intelligence and military action) has been largely overlooked. To rectify this gap, this project assesses the character of recent USA/UK military/security engagements in West Africa examining the drivers of counter terrorism actions, the shaping of (and reactions to) changing regional security coalitions and the effects on counter terrorism, conflict resolution and political governance trajectories. The project is expected to be a qualitative study relying on elite interviews and discourse analysis. It would support the DTP's contribution to the ESRC Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF - see below).