Jihadism and Counter-Terrorism Strategy in African Countries

After the military defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East, the primary activity of this terrorist organization has shifted to African countries. Similar to al-Qaeda, from which it originally emerged, IS has in recent years aimed at establishing cooperation or incorporating African Islamist extremist movements under its own brand. Currently, the majority of originally insurgent Islamist movements in Africa (at least formally) fall under the franchise of either of the two aforementioned global jihadist terrorist organizations. The article focuses on three case studies—Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama’ah in Mozambique—and analyses possible changes in the strategies of these Islamist insurgent movements after they began cooperating with international terrorist organizations. The article also examines the counterinsurgency strategies of these countries’ state actors and focuses on possible changes in their approaches toward the insurgent movements reflecting their respective shifts in strategy.