#BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY FREE#
11 Therefore, the cross-border free movement is a key element in the functioning of Boko Haram that renders Boko Haram less as a collection of actors but rather a system reliant on inputs in the form of weaponry and support via free movement to produce insurgents. 10 Moreover, by allying with organisations in neighbouring countries to hide insurgents, Boko Haram has developed rear bases for its operations, which are scattered across several states. 9 The Boko Haram insurgency, however, relies on the states around it, using the porous borders that are no longer heavily secured (as a result of the ECOWAS protocol on the free movement of persons) as a way in which they can smuggle weapons and personnel across the region. Since 1945, the majority of COIN operations have been conducted by forces outside of their sovereign territory 8 – either as interventions or as part of imperial policy limited to “crushing the insurgency” within the borders of the state and returning control to allied forms of governance. THINK DEFENCE Regional focus: Securing the borders Cross-border free movement is a key factor in Boko Haram’s operational functioning. 7 This article explores each of these strategies, analysing them through a theoretical lens, before outlining the mission’s shortcomings and finally considering the lessons that can be learnt and contrasting them with Western COIN missions in Afghanistan, Vietnam and Kenya. This was achieved by adopting the widely accepted best practices of COIN: a regional focus, a political strategy and a population-centric security focus. 6 Despite the fact that Boko Haram continues to operate today, between 20 the Nigerian Joint Task Force (NJTF), as part of the Lake Chad Basin Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), successfully reduced both the ability and reach of Boko Haram. One such example is the ongoing operation against the Islamist group known as Boko Haram, in the Lake Chad Basin. However, non-Western COIN operations now constitute the majority of global COIN operations. 4 These missions have been primarily conducted by Western forces, which this article defines as those belonging to the European Union, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America – as not only are these states in line with what is traditionally considered Western society, but are well documented as leaders of Western COIN operations. 3 COIN itself consists of a “combination of measures undertaken by a government, sometimes with multinational partner support, to defeat an insurgency”.
#BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY PROFESSIONAL#
1 Insurgencies, defined as “organized subversion and violence to seize, nullify, or challenge political control of a region” 2 have consequently become a key focus for conflict analysts, with counter-insurgency (COIN) operations now a central tenant within the education of modern professional armed forces. Whilst the number of insurgencies has steadily increased since the end of the 1990s, today they constitute the majority of all globally monitored conflicts.
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