A book launch for Overcoming Boko Haram: Faith, Society and Islamic Radicalisation in Northern Nigeria, Abdul Raufu Mustapha and Kate Meagher (eds)

This event examines the social and political processes that explain the rise of the Nigerian Islamic extremist group known as Boko Haram, and considers what it can tell us about the rise of Islamic violence in West Africa more broadly. Looking beyond the preoccupation with jihadis and global terrorist networks, the book offers new insights into the drivers of Islamic extremism in Nigeria and beyond – poverty, regional inequality, environmental stress, youth unemployment, and state corruption and human rights abuses – with a view to charting more sustainable paths out of the conflict.

Speakers:
Professor Diego Sánchez-Ancochea is Professor of the Political-Economy of Development and Head of the Oxford Department of International Development. He specialises in the political economy of Latin America with a particular focus on the determinants of income inequality and the role of social policy in reducing it.

Dr Kate Meagher is an Associate Professor at the Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research focuses on the role of the informal economy in development, conflict resolution and institutional change, with a particular focus on Africa.

Dr Rahmane Idrissa is a Senior Researcher at the Africa Studies Centre, University of Leiden, and a research associate at LASDEL, a social science research organisation in Niger. He specialises in democratisation and state formation in Africa and Salafi radicalism in the Sahel.

Dr Adeel Malik is an Associate Professor at the Oxford Department of International Development and Globe Fellow in the Economies of Muslim Societies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. His research focuses on political economy and economic history of Muslim societies.

Dr Abubakar Kawu Monguno is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Maiduguri in Nigeria. He specialises in issues of religious conflict, public health and environmental conservation in Borno State.