Critical terrorism studies and postcolonialism

Constructing ungoverned spaces in counter-terrorism discourse in Nigeria

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12918679
AutoresKodili Henry Chukwuma (0000-0003-2181-5009, University of East Anglia, autor de correspondencia)
Año2022
Volumen15
Número2
Páginas399-416
Fecha de publicación2022-03-11
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCritical Studies on Terrorism (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1753-9161 • E-ISSN: 1753-9153
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17539153.2022.2048990
OpenAlexW4220771737
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas18
Referencias citadas71

This article explores a neglected question in ongoing debates about counter-terrorism efforts in Nigeria: How is Nigeria’s counter-terrorism strategy discursively framed? The article argues, in part, that Nigeria’s counter-terrorism strategy is essentially a political activity which contributes to the production of a specific Nigerian identity by designating north-eastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin as “ungoverned” spaces. This construction of identity through geography, though, has important implications for policy, identity and security in Nigeria, and beyond. This study of Nigeria, I also argue, presents an opportunity for a much-needed conversation between CTS and postcolonialism for broadening knowledge on discourses around (counter-)terrorism. Drawing upon the concept of space in postcolonial scholarship, this article demonstrates how the relationship between geography, identity and subjectivity offers a broader framework for articulating continuing, and recent, discourses of counter-terrorism. It demonstrates how Nigerian counter-terrorism discourse reproduces, and transforms, well-known Euro-centric and state-centred discourses which intersect with colonial and imperialistic ideas (and practices). In doing so, the article makes two notable contributions: first, it provides a sustained focus on official articulations of counter-terrorism in Nigeria by examining important primary data. Second, in mobilizing the concept of space in postcolonialism, it facilitates crucial theoretical reflections within (critical) terrorism studies

Counter terrorism · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Postcolonialism (international relations · Sociology · Terrorism · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence