World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The Oxford Research Group has published an insightful analysis of the threat posed by Boko Haram to Nigeria.  It is a nuanced piece that weaves together the north vs. south and Christian vs. Muslim dynamics of the crisis in Nigeria.  Ultimately, the root cause of the violence is the question of who holds the power.  In order to defuse the crisis in the Christian south (where most of Nigeria’s oil is located), the government diverted resources to buy off the violent group known as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger (MEND).  The tactic worked, but the diversion of resources to the south alienated the primarily Muslim population of the northeast.   According to the report: “Northern Nigeria is three times poorer than the mainly Christian south, and the northeastern heartland of Boko Haram is the poorest part of the north.”  Once again, do not be misled by the religious overlay of the conflict:  conflict is invariably over the issue of power.

The leader of the newly declared Islamic State (formerly ISIS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, issued a videotaped message to all Muslims to defend the newly established Caliphate.  In the message, he said:

“It is a state where the Arab and non-Arab, the white man and black man, the easterner and westerner are all brothers,” he said, trying to broaden his base beyond the Middle East. “Muslims, rush to your state. Yes, it is your state. Rush, because Syria is not for the Syrians, and Iraq is not for the Iraqis. The Earth is Allah’s.”

Al-Baghdadi’s movement has already attracted a number of people from the US and Europe, leading to increased security concerns as these individuals will have passports that will make it easier for them to re-enter countries and perhaps plan terrorist attacks.

Thousands marched in Hong Kong in favor of democracy in an annual demonstration marking the turnover of Hong Kong back to China in 1997.  Demonstration supporters estimated the crowds at around 510,000 while the Chinese government estimated the crowd at 98,600.  The demonstration comes as fears mount in Hong Kong that the democratic procedures and institutions implemented in the British agreement with China are being eroded.  In that agreement, “China agreed to govern Hong Kong under the principle of ‘one country, two systems’, where the city would enjoy ‘a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs’ for 50 years.”