Violent Extremist Organizations and the Electoral Cycle in Africa: A Framework for Analyzing the 2015 Tanzanian Elections

Abstract

Violent extremist organizations (VEOs), once relatively rare in sub-Saharan Africa, are rapidly becoming a serious threat to regime stability in several key African countries. In addition to generalized political violence and terrorist attacks directed at soft targets, VEOs have used elections to further their organizational goals in several key ways. This paper examines past and upcoming elections in Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, all of which have experienced VEO attacks as part of the electoral process. Past events in Nigeria and Kenya in particular are examined alongside a deeper analysis of Tanzania so as to forecast the potential for VEO activity before or after the 2015 Tanzanian election. Focusing on elections as a galvanizing event or focal point for VEO activity may provide us with leverage in order to better understand and reduce VEO activity in Africa.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2015
Accession Number
ADA617807

Entities

People

  • Stephanie M. Burchard

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Africa
  • Continents
  • East Africa
  • Elections
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Governments
  • Insurgency
  • National Governments
  • Nongovernmental Organizations
  • Saharan Africa
  • Security
  • Societies
  • Tanzania
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Violence

Readers

  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.