Africa and Afghanistan the Current Hotspots, But Jihadists Also Eye China and Russia

• Published in: Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses 2023-03, Vol.15 (2), p.1-6
• Main Author: Dorsey, James M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2382-6444

Sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan are jihadism’s current focal points. They are likely to remain hotspots of political violence for the foreseeable future. The two regions beckon jihadists with more than the operational benefits of ungoverned spaces, weak governments, porous borders, vulnerable bulges of youth who have no hope for a better future, and/or militants in search of an effective organisational framework. They also place groups like the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda on the fringes of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The three regions on Europe’s eastern and southern flanks – and in Central Asia’s case, China and Russia’s near abroad – are populated by often nonperforming autocracies and young populations with little to lose. As a result, the geopolitics of sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan have turned jihadists into players in the struggle between China, Russia and Western nations to shape a new world order.