Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2017 in the subject Politics - Region: Africa, grade: 4, University of Ibadan, language: English, abstract: This work articulates that Nigeria’s security is troubled by transnational crimes prevalent in West Africa by making an important argument that since West African states lack the capacity to uphold the basic demands of statehood within their territorial domains, they unavoidably serve as safe havens for trans-organized criminal networks, which has grave implications to Nigeria’s domestic concerns.

Though the provision of illicit goods and services is far from being a new phenomenon, today's global economic environment has allowed transnational organized crime an unprecedented capacity to challenge states. The authors of this book examine the trends underlying the explosion of transnational organized crime and consider possible responses. Emphasizing the difficulties encountered by individual states in their efforts to deal with this security dilemma, they highlight the growing importance of multilateral initiatives.

This book examines the growing phenomenon of armed banditry in Nigeria and its implication for national security. Nigeria’s banditry crisis and deepening security challenges are fuelled by the existence of vast un(der)governed hinterland and trans-border spaces where various non-state armed groups operate unhindered and outside of the law, engaging in various forms of transnational crime. This book explores the activities of these groups to assess the nature and significance of banditry as a complex threat to security. It does so against the backdrop of reports of increased bandit attacks on farms, markets, mining sites, villages and rural communities, and the rising tide of violent crimes in Nigeria, especially the northern region. This book analyses the factors that are responsible for the emergence of banditry as a recent national and transnational security threat and outlines the contemporary dynamics of Nigeria’s banditry crisis and how it can be mitigated. This book will be of interest to researchers and students in the field of African Studies, International Relations, Security and Strategic Studies, Political Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, as well as policymakers and practitioners interested in complex security threats and their implications in Nigeria and beyond.

While it could be arguably stated that West Africa has achieved remarkable and sustainable progress in the areas of democratic governance and economic growth, the subregion, over the past few years, has been challenged by terrorism and other transnational security threats. Innocent civilians are continuously killed, security operatives and providers of humanitarian assistance are targeted, and properties and infrastructures are wantonly destroyed, thus culminating in significant displacement of people and acute poverty. If these developments are not carefully and timely addressed, they are capable of eroding progress so far recorded. It is against this background that this book examines the different manifestations of terrorism and related transnational security challenges in West Africa, with a view to exploring the internal and external sources and drivers of instability, establishing the linkages between terrorism and transnational threats, and reviewing the various steps taken in recent time to strengthen the subregions capacity to prevent and address the menace of terrorism and other security challenges and make necessary policy recommendations based on comprehensive best practices.

The perceived threat of 'transnational organized crime' to Western societies has been of huge interest to politicians, policy makers and social scientists over the last decade. This book considers the origins of this crime, how it has been defined and measured and the appropriateness of governments' policy responses. The contributors argue that while serious harm is often caused by transnational criminal activity - for example, the trafficking in human beings - the construction of that criminal activity as an external threat obscures the origins of these crimes in the markets for illicit goods and services within the 'threatened' societies. As such, the authors question the extent to which global crime can be controlled through law enforcement initiatives, and alternative policy initiatives are considered. The authors also question whether transnational organised crime will retain its place on the policy agendas of the United Nations and European Union in the wake of the 'War on Terror'.