Boko Haram is one of the world’s deadliest jihadist groups. It has killed more than twenty thousand people and displaced more than two million in a campaign of terror that began in Nigeria but has since spread to Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. This is the first book to tell the full story of this West African affiliate of the Islamic State, from its beginnings in the early 2000s to its most infamous violence, including the 2014 kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls. An in-depth account of a group that is menacing Africa’s most populous and richest country, the book also illuminates the dynamics of civil war in Africa and jihadist movements in other parts of the world.
Awards and Recognition
- One of Foreign Affairs' Picks for Best of Books 2018
Alexander Thurston is visiting assistant professor of political science and comparative religion at Miami University, and the author of Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics. Twitter @sahelblog
"A must for anybody interested in Nigeria’s recent past as well as the dynamics of political and religious development in the larger West African region."—Roman Loimeier, Africa Spectrum
"May well become the definitive work on the group . . . . Thurston convincingly debunks theories of Boko Haram that would deny its uniquely Nigerian nature."—James H. Barnett, Weekly Standard
"Offers an authoritative take on [Boko Haram's] murky origins and wisely situates its rise within the context of Nigerian political history."—Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs
"Thurston's account of Boko Haram's rise and how it 'interacted dynamically with the political dysfunction and economic malaise that surrounded it' is key to understanding its survival."—Siona Jenkins, Financial Times
"As balanced and comprehensive a treatment of Boko Haram as we are likely to see for many years."—Robert L. Tignor, Michigan War Studies Review