Turbulence and stability: civilian cooperation in Boko Haram’s insurgency

Abstract

Why do some civilians become embedded in militant organizations while others do not? It is commonly assumed that civilians either support or resist rebels, depending on whether they share their political cause, or that they are forced to cooperate. The messy reality, however, is that people rarely fall in just one category. Some cooperate but maintain weak linkages to insurgents, carrying out quotidian chores and labor, whereas others get swept up in high-stakes rebel activities. They move within militant hierarchies, experience and execute punishments, and provide logistics, social services, and military support on the frontline. This thesis seeks to describe a broad spectrum of civilian engagement, from collusion to compliance to resistance, and to explain variation in civilian patterns of cooperation in rebel-controlled territories.

Through a fieldwork-driven case study of Boko Haram’s insurgency in Northeast Nigeria, this research examines theoretical and empirical differences in the roles that civilians perform and the relations they establish with a rebel movement. It relies on extensive interview material to identify and explain the emergence of two patterns of cooperation – stability and turbulence. Specifically, it demonstrates that these patterns result from civilian adaptation to varying levels of insurgent control. Contrary to the assumption that stability is rooted in high oversight, it is rebel neglect in areas of limited strategic value that allows for everyday civilian life to persist in the periphery. In turn, militarized governance in core territories draws civilians into high-risk and turbulent engagement as they try to navigate vulnerability and empowerment within the rebel system. Consequently, civilian behavior is shaped by proximity to military power, which creates unpredictability and entanglement with armed actors.

This fine-grained analysis is based on original qualitative data, primarily in-depth interviews with people who lived under Boko Haram’s rule, collected in Nigeria over the course of eleven months between 2018 and 2020. By tracing insurgent-civilian interactions within their specific institutional settings, this study shows how the micro-dynamics of cooperation are shaped by the strategic and operational dimensions of insurgent war-making. Understanding patterns that define civilian experiences in conflict zones fundamentally shifts away from the politically charged assumptions of collusion to instead focus on constraints for civilian – and armed group – survival. Finally, this thesis bridges scholarly debates about civilian agency and rebel governance while applying them to a context that is representative of increasing Islamic extremist influence, violence, and territorial contestation in Africa.