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加的伊斯兰极端主义叛乱？不断变化的地区反恐联盟如何影响这些接触？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：最近的伊斯兰叛乱浪潮（萨赫勒地区的基地组织和与isis结盟的博科圣地在乍得湖地区）深刻地影响了西非的安全形势。作为回应，西方大国一直在重新配置他们在该地区打击恐怖主义的努力，大多数学术研究都集中在法国（该地区主要的外部主角）所扮演的强有力的干预主义角色上。相比之下，尽管在该地区有重大的安全和发展利益，但美国/英国在训练、演习、后勤、监视和情报以及军事行动方面的作用在很大程度上被忽视了。为了弥补这一差距，该项目评估了最近美国/英国在西非的军事/安全参与的特征，研究了反恐行动的驱动因素，不断变化的区域安全联盟的形成（和反应）以及对反恐，冲突解决和政治治理轨迹的影响。该项目预计将是一个依靠精英访谈和话语分析的定性研究。它将支持DTP对ESRC全球挑战研究基金（GCRF -见下文）的贡献。

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).