African governments' response to insurgency

Abstract

Why would an otherwise capable African government permit an insurgency to persist within its borders for an extended period of time while possessing the means to address it? Through a comparative approach, drawing on academic research on Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army and Nigeria and Boko Haram, this thesis seeks to explain why some insurgencies persist for extended periods of time with minimal government intervention. The research suggests that in the case studies analyzed, Uganda and Nigeria have permitted the insurgencies to continue due to the economic and political benefits that they are able to derive from the ongoing conflict. African governments may at times exploit insurgency and internal conflict to meet political objectives. U.S. policy makers should strongly consider this possibility when deciding upon economic and military aid packages to countries involved in ongoing conflict, to avoid inadvertently facilitating ongoing conflict.