Prisoner’s Dilemma

Hedging Loyalties in (Un)Governed Space of the Lake Chad Basin

Bibliographic Data

ID11103003
AuthorsOyewole Simon Oginni (0000-0003-3030-7890, University of Bonn, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume51
Issue1
Pages146-180
Publication date2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArmed Forces & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0095-327X • E-ISSN: 1556-0848
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0095327x231177896
OpenAlexW4379793691
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited60

This article examines the dynamics of interactions between civilians, armed groups, and the state in frontline states. Drawing on a 6-year ethnographic study of armed conflicts in the Lake Chad Basin region, the article argues that civilian loyalty becomes multiple and overlapping when the roles of the state and armed groups become indistinguishable in insecure spaces. A range of actions and outcomes can be observed from civilians’ navigating strategies: individual and collective bargaining, false compliance and co-optation with Boko Haram, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and other militias to mitigate the risks of multiple competing authorities. The coupling of emerging individual and collective actions exemplifies self-organization that shapes the state response, armed groups’ behaviors, and their legitimacy at the local scale. Thus, civilians result in hedging loyalty between the state and armed groups to reduce the potential harm that the non-zero-sum control of conflict-torn spaces would otherwise cause

Criminology · Dilemma · Geography · Harm · Islam · Legitimacy · Loyalty · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Space (punctuation) · State (computer science · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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