Transnational Cooperation to Combat Boko Haram: The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)

Abstract

Transnational cooperation, particularly in the security sector, has become a platform through which contiguous countries or nations within a subregion collaborate to tackle common security threats or challenges. Against the backdrop of the foregoing, this dissertation examines the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) role in combatting Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin region of Africa. The study employed qualitative research methods, including archival and in-depth subject matter expert interviews with about 50 participants to examine the nature and mechanism of cooperation within the MNJTF, the challenges and successes of the task force. Also, it sought expert opinions on what factors motivate the demise of terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram. The recommendations would serve as a guide for the MNJTF to finding a lasting solution to the Boko Haram crisis in the Lake Chad Basin. Other intuitions, governments, and international organizations in Africa and beyond would also benefit from the recommendations, especially as the world continues to grapple with the question of terrorism.