Defence and national security in Africa are relatively neglected areas of study, especially by Nigerian scholars, although research in these areas appears to be on the increase in some Nigerian universities. This study aims to make available the analytical tools and necessary criteria to enable reliable judgements about the state of the country's security and to identify the weaknesses. The book is organised into four main sections: internal security linkages, external linkages, the enforcement linkages and the defence component.

Seven Africanist scholars from the African Strategic and Peace Research Group in Nigeria here address the threat of terrorism in the context of the global strategic climate. The study is against the background of the altered shape of the global security equation, and the devalued utility of the notion of security through state-centric military preparedness. They posit that failure to grasp its exact nature is leading to the spread to parts of Africa hitherto regarded as relatively safe. Further the adverse socio-political conditions on the continent have increased Africa's vulnerability. They...