For most of its history, Nigeria has witnessed sporadic episodes of insecurity; a phenomenon traditionally manifested in political, electoral, religious and ethnic violence, and, more recently, terrorism. This book investigates the core issues that have led to, and shaped the development and sustenance of, organised political violence in Nigeria. Focusing on elite political culture and State governance, it examines important elements of the socio-political environment, including zero-sum politics, identity politics, and the politicisation of social cleavages. As such, it represents an invaluable resource on the issue of organised political violence too often glossed over in research on insecurity in Nigeria. Scholars in security studies and national security policy analysts will find this text enlightening.

Nigeria is mired in a crisis of governance. For decades, Nigeria's governing elite have been widely implicated in acts of violence, corruption and electorial fraud so pervasive as to resemble criminal activity more han democratic governance. Not only has Nigeria's federal government failed to hold these politicians to account, but Nigeria's system of politics has actively rewarded corruption and violence with control governorships, parliamentary seats and other positions of public trust.

The book argues that in order to better understand the undercurrents of the Niger Delta conflict, it is imperative to analyse the dynamics of choice in terms of the distinct courses of action taken by the Ogoni and Ijaw. Given the similar structural constraints, the author considers why the Ogoni adopted nonviolent resistance, and the Ijaw violent resistance. This book is divided into seven chapters starting with an introduction to oil and political violence in African conflicts, and includes a synoptic overview of four other resource-rich countries in Africa. Theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of conflict are then presented with the aim of situating the Niger Delta conflicts within the wider conflict literature. Chapter Three concentrates the discussion on the Nigerian Niger Delta, outlining the core issues at the centre of the contestations. The following three chapters offer an in-depth empirical analysis on the interaction between the narratives on nonviolence versus violence, the nature of leadership styles, and the organisation of the Ogoni and Ijaw movements along with a concluding chapter.

Nigeria and Nigerians have acquired a notorious reputation for involvement in drug-trafficking, fraud, cyber-crime and other types of serious crime. Successful Nigerian criminal networks have a global reach, interacting with their Italian, Latin American and Russian counterparts. Yet in 1944, a British colonial official wrote that 'the number of persistent and professional criminals is not great' in Nigeria and that 'crime as a career has so far made little appeal to the young Nigerian'. This book traces the origins of Nigerian organised crime to the last years of colonial rule, when nationalist politicians acquired power at a regional level. In need of funds for campaigning, they offered government contracts to foreign businesses in return for kickbacks, in a pattern that recurs to this day. Political corruption encouraged a wider disrespect for the law that spread throughout Nigerian society. When the country's oil boom came to an end in the early 1980s, young Nigerian college graduates headed abroad, eager to make money by any means. Nigerian crime went global at the very moment new criminal markets were emerging all over the world.

Countering extremism is starting to receive more attention as a subject of research in academia and policy circles alike, demonstrating its rising popularity within the market. Nevertheless, the market currently lacks literature on the topic of extremism (as opposed to terrorism), and critical approaches in particular. The concept of this book thus grows from the need to look at the under-researched approaches to the topic from a critical perspective.This book brings together a set of scholars from a diverse range of countries, experts in many fields of social sciences to present valuable multidisciplinary analysis of both theoretical and practical aspects related to countering extremism. It will thus be of interest for scholars and students of the following disciplines, among others: Anthropology, Comparative Politics, Criminology, Education Studies, Gender Studies, International Relations, Post-colonial Studies, Peace Studies, Sociology, Subaltern Studies, Terrorism Studies.