Inside Africa’s Power Struggle: Governance, Grievance, and Extremism

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In this episode of GNSI’s “At the Boundary” podcast, USF’s Dr. Robert Burrell is joined by authors Dr. Zacharias Pieri and Dr. Kevin Fridy to discuss their new book, Governance, Grievance, and Violent Extremism in West Africa:From the Caliphates to Great Power Competition. The conversation explores how local governance, resource competition, and regional instability shape violent extremism in West Africa, with a focus on Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana.

Together, they unpack:

·       How governance failures fuel extremist movements across the Sahel

·       The lingering effects of colonial and pre-colonial systems on modern governance

·       The role of natural resources and external powers in local conflict

·       How the United States and international actors can more effectively engage at the local level

🎙️ Recorded at the University of South Florida, this episode offers vital insights into one of the world’s most complex and consequential security challenges.

Links from the episode:

• Register for the Florida Security Forum: Port and Maritime Security

• “Governance, Grievance, and Violent Extremism in West Africa: From the Caliphates to Great Power Competition” by Zacharias P. Pieri and Kevin S. Fridy

• “Disarming Hezbollah: Challenges and Opportunities in the Pursuit of a Regional Settlement” Decision Brief by Mohamed Nabil El-Bendary

• Check out the GNSI Official Youtube Channel!

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At the Boundary  from the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida,  features global and national security issues we’ve found to be insightful, intriguing, fascinating, maybe controversial, but overall just worth talking about.

A "boundary" is a place, either literal or figurative, where two forces exist in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that boundary is in a state of harmony. More often than not, that boundary has a bit of chaos baked in. The Global and National Security Institute will live on the boundary of security policy and technology and that's where this podcast will focus.

The mission of GNSI is to provide actionable solutions to 21st-century security challenges for decision-makers at the local, state, national and global levels. We hope you enjoy At the Boundary.

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