Nigeria: Examining Boko Haram

Editor's Note: This is the second installment in a three-part series on militant activity in Nigeria.

The geopolitics of Nigeria engenders the use of regional militias, which wage insurgencies in part to help their patrons earn political and economic power and prestige. Nigeria's most infamous militia, at least for now, is Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group that recently made headlines when it kidnapped some 200 young girls. Despite all the calls for retribution from the West, Boko Haram remains as strong as ever, its strength owed to its robust support network, structure, capabilities and regional reach.