HIS 462 TERRORISM IN CONTEMP AFRICA

In the heightened age of globalization, Africa is becoming more integral to the U.S. war on terror.  The 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the 2013 deadly mall attack in Kenya by the Somalia based terrorist group al-Shabaab and the recent attacks and kidnapping of over two hundred girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram have brought Africa into the mainstream discussion on global terrorism.  Africa’s centrality to the U.S and international community's war on terror is such that the U.S. has embarked on the establishment of U.S military command center for Africa, Africa Command (AFRICOM).  In this course, we will examine the period from 1940, when discourse about terrorism in Africa began to appear in western media to the present.  Utilizing primary and secondary sources, we will address questions such as what factors give rise to terrorism in Africa.