The role of ungoverned spaces in perpetuating terrorism in Africa: A case study of the Lord’s Resistance Army and Boko Haram.

Document Type : Original Article

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Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University

Abstract

Many developing countries face complex security challenges with what has been described as the phenomenon of ungoverned spaces, which are believed to harbor insurgents, terrorists and other violent armed groups. This paper examines the security challenges faced by both the Ugandan state and the Nigerian state that emerged from the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency and the Islamist militant group Boko Haram and trying to understand this conflict in the context of the ungoverned areas. The study uses indicators of state weakness with geographical reference, especially in the northern regions of the two countries under study, to estimate the effects of the factors of weak state authority on violent events across space and time. To find out whether the ungoverned spaces in Uganda and Nigeria have contributed to creating an environment conducive to the survival and growth of terrorists such as the Lord's Resistance Army and the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, Finally, the paper concludes with a number of recommendations for a multidimensional approach to reducing violence from ungoverned Spaces and to achieving peace and stability in conflict areas.

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