Book Review: The Palgrave Handbook of Terrorism in Africa
The Palgrave Handbook of Terrorism in Africa. Edited by Rohana Gunaratna and C. Nna-Okereke. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025. ISBN: 978-3031899393. Maps. Sources Cited. Glossary. Notes. Index. $289.00 Pp. i-813.
The strength of The Palgrave Handbook of Terrorism in Africa is its 25 African-based contributors. These experts live and study extremism, terrorism and insurgency in the African continent. Their local knowledge and understanding of the challenges of Africa is vital to mitigating the risks and harnessing the opportunities for peace in the continent. The work is an important contribution in understanding the calculus states use in deciding to pursue, develop, and adapt to this unconventional terrorist threat.
With the rise in terrorism as a threat across the continent, the international community should be deeply committed to building capacity in Africa. Every African nation, likewise, should engage with a range of domestic and international partners in cooperation and collaboration to address the challenges of terrorism and extremism. The editors and chapter authors have put in considerable effort to map the evolving threat landscape in Africa. At times dense and tough, this edited anthology of 813 pages is an interesting read. Their research findings are not so much good news sometimes, but on the other hand, the book really lays out all the different terrorism variations.
Africa is a very complex set of countries that have very different issues. A reader will develop a better frame of description on what Africa means to terrorism. Many chapters outlined youth-led protests. The case studies provide a vivid illustration of how young people act as catalysts for systemic change. Viewed through an inter-generational justice lens, these demonstrations reveal the deep-rooted grievances driving civic unrest and highlight the urgent need for inclusive, forward-looking policy frameworks. Societal upheavals noted in the book—driven by rising inequality, climate fragility, and diminished trust in public institutions—have created profound uncertainties for youth and future generations. The gulf between the “have-nots” and the “have-yachts” is expanding, even as young people gain unparalleled access to information and digital organizing tools.
The book also shows that parliaments remain the cornerstone of democratic governance. Elected representatives are constitutionally mandated to protect civil liberties, ensure the rule of law, and oversee executive actions. Their involvement is especially critical in shaping legally robust, inclusive, and rights-based policies for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE). In fragile and transitioning contexts discussed throughout the book, parliamentary leadership is indispensable to creating policy responses that are not only strategic but also legitimate and locally grounded by justice—especially inter-generational and environmental equity. Leadership is a prerequisite for sustainable peace and legitimate governance.
After nearly two decades of predominantly Western-led capacity-building efforts across African governance institutions, serious questions arise regarding the sustainability of these knowledge-transfer models. Structural transformation requires more than external expertise; it demands local ownership, contextual understanding, and empowered legislative leadership, stated in this book. This book further amplifies the need for local leaders to take a robust role—not just in refining multi-stakeholder frameworks, but in resourcing and enabling civil society to act effectively within government.
Every chapter contribution shows deep knowledge at the local level. Each author brought an incredibly unique perspective given the level of personal knowledge. One author came from a previous institution that I led. I am very proud to see counterterrorism expertise being translated into well-researched country and regional case studies. As an example of the precision throughout the book, some key things I learned in the Egyptian chapter included: 1) the need to differentiate how Egypt Islamic Jihad or EIJ operates in comparison with other Islamic movements and 2) incredible detail and analysis on how Islamic movements really went back to the 1960s in 1970s and 3) the scrutiny regarding the principal of Takfirism, the radical ideology within this view characterized by the excommunication of Muslims. This chapter’s author linked the rise of Takfirism and why secular democratic governance has been so difficult to establish in many of the countries in Africa. This pattern seems to be a general theme throughout the whole book. The chapter contributor noted that EIJ disagreed with the Al-Qaeda principle of fighting the far enemy. The West, specifically the US as the far enemy, seems to be somewhat on the back burner.
The strategic analysts who observe such trends are worried about the Sahel in general as a point of instability. The handbook not only covers the threat but the response including the institutions built to mitigate the threat. The Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding in Africa (CCCPA) had a program Preventing Radicalization Extremism Leading to Terrorism (PERLT). The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has had this long-standing term VERLT, Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Leads to Terrorism. The authors document the concepts passed on from the OSCE in Europe to Africa. Within the OSCE, Egypt is a Mediterranean Partner for Co-operation, a linkage likely established from that outreach.
This is an excellent book because although policymakers may prefer criticism in private, recent roundtable discussions with this author revealed a troubling tendency to respond to civil society pressure by enacting restrictive NGO and CSO laws. Yet, global best practices endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism—and embedded in for example many EU legislations—show the value of multilateral collaboration like The Palgrave Handbook of Terrorism in Africa. Europe’s long history of confidence-building through frameworks like the Helsinki Final Act and the OSCE provides a model, even as challenges persist with the OSCE.
African terrorism unaddressed will rise as one of the lethal transnational threats to peace and security. The need for a unified effort cannot be underestimated or led by security forces alone. The effort requires genuine engagement and leadership from NGOs and CSOs adapting existing or even new models. History and The Palgrave Handbook of Terrorism in Africa tell us that sooner or later terrorism will be more active again and show itself through the attacks in areas outside Africa. Then those outside Africa care but too late. One can observe terrorism as envisioned after 9/11 in and of itself has lost its way. Many have completely mixed terrorism up with other issues because it is convenient to label disagreement as terrorism.
As one writing this review, I see it even in America where each side calls some of the things that are going on between the so-called right/left by accusing each of them of being a terrorist. It is very unhelpful when one is trying to get to the classic terrorism that causes enormous economic impact like 9/11 or all the lone wolf attacks in the middle 2010s. For many, it is a hard-to-understand why Africa is a priority. An argument by isolationist-minded whether one should worry about transporting the situation as an effect on the US (Africa/Sahel are too far away many would say) as a preeminent threat. North/West people no longer worry enough about terrorism, again.
The incredible depth and decision to group by regional areas makes the book a must have for any researcher or institution—whether locally, regionally, or internationally—a resource that can be used as a whole or selectively by chapters. Lessons from multi-actor civil society programs show that successful strategies must be person-centered and locally led like this book. With deep community engagement to tailor interventions to the local context they must also be adaptive and collaborative, establishing benchmarks for continuous improvement and coordination across actors. A balanced approach is essential, integrating non-law enforcement professionals to avoid over-securitization, while efficiently leveraging existing structures rather than creating unnecessary parallel systems. In contrast, the book shows that failure is more likely when strategies are top-down and government-controlled, with limited local buy-in. Approaches that disproportionately target individuals based on religion, politics, or identity, or that prioritize law enforcement at the expense of social solutions, risk deepening divisions and fueling future cycles of violence.
African parliamentarians and other leaders may be unaware of these collaborative models across the region as so well outlined in The Palgrave Handbook of Terrorism in Africa. African leaders will need to make the necessary political sacrifices. With the recent resurgence of populist ideas and policies, political will needs to be redirected and a portion of hard power resources allocated to address the root causes of such extremism. As noted throughout the book, the dual approach combining hard and soft security should complement each other to effectively mitigate risk factors. After reading this book, there is an already significant investment in regional security and resilience programs. Multilateral leadership should support the importance of prioritizing non-traditional aspects of security issues to better integrate outside (i.e., so-called Western) security and development assistance for Africa. Local leaders are ready to seize the opportunity to lead by example. Hope should not be abandoned despite the historical context so well documented. There is always space for a fresh start—a chance to further empower regional trust and demonstrate that Africa’s future is one where youth are valued as critical actors in shaping peace, security, and resilience. This is the major takeaway from these 27 chapters and commendable authors.
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