Across several regions of Africa, the relationship between terrorism and illicit economies interacts with broader patterns of insecurity. In environments marked by fragile institutions, porous borders and expansive informal markets, violent extremist groups and criminal actors operate within overlapping spaces where the boundaries between legality and illegality are often blurred. These conditions create environments in which illicit economic systems can be exploited by violent extremist groups.
Dangerous Liaisons: Assessing the nexus between terrorism and criminal activities in Africa examines the interactions between terrorist actors and criminal economies, drawing on analysis of selected groups affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and Al-Qaida. The study focuses in particular on West Africa, with field research conducted in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
While the notion of a “crime–terror nexus” has gained considerable traction in policy and academic discourse, empir
