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Deadly elections: post-election violence in Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2018

Henrik Angerbrandt
Henrik Angerbrandt*
Affiliation:
The Nordic Africa Institute, Box 170, SE-751 47, Uppsala, Sweden and Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Email: henrik.angerbrandt@statsvet.su.se
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Abstract

Two decades after the ‘third wave of democratization’, extensive violence continues to follow elections in sub-Saharan Africa. Whereas national processes connected to pre-election violence have received increased scholarly attention, little is known of local dynamics of violence after elections. This article examines the 2011 Nigerian post-election violence with regard to the ways in which national electoral processes interweave with local social and political disputes. The most affected state, Kaduna State, has a history of violent local relations connected to which group should control politics and the state. It is argued that electoral polarisation aggravated national ethno-religious divisions that corresponded to the dividing line of the conflict in Kaduna. A rapid escalation of violence was facilitated by local social networks nurtured by ethno-religious grievances.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 56 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 143 - 167
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

The author would like to thank Jesper Bjarnesen, Caitriona Dowd, and Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs for helpful comments and Kristina Eneroth for assistance with the maps. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments. This article partly draws upon funding by the Swedish Research Council (grant number 421-2011-1438).

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