Globalization and Terror in Africa
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Munich Personal RePEc Archive Globalization and Terror in Africa Asongu, Simplice and Biekpe, Nicholas May 2017 Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/85056/ MPRA Paper No. 85056, posted 08 Mar 2018 04:51 UTC A G D I Working Paper WP/17/053 Globalization and Terror in Africa Forthcoming: International Economics Simplice A. Asongu African Governance and Development Institute, P.O. Box 8413, Yaoundé, Cameroon & Development Finance Centre Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. E-mails: [email protected] / [email protected] Nicholas Biekpe Development Finance Centre Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. E-mail: [email protected] 1 2017 African Governance and Development Institute WP/17/053 Research Department Globalization and Terror in Africa Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas Biekpe May 2017 Abstract This study examines the role of globalization on terrorism in 51 African countries for the period 1996-2011. Four terrorism indicators are used, namely: domestic, transnational, unclear and total terrorism. Political, economic, social and general globalisation variables are employed and the empirical evidence is based on Fixed Effects regressions and Generalised Method of Moments (GMM). Whereas the FE regressions are overwhelmingly not significant, the following findings are established from GMM estimations. Political globalisation increases both domestic and transnational terrorism. Social globalisation and general globalisation increase transnational terrorism. Economic globalisation reduces domestic terrorism. Political globalisation, social globalisation and general globalization positively affect unclear terrorism. Social globalisation has a positive impact on total terrorism. Possible channels and policy implications are discussed. JEL Classification: C52; D74; F30; F42; O55 Keywords: Terrorism; Globalization; Africa 1. Introduction This inquiry which investigates the linkage between globalization and terrorism in Africa is motivated by two main factors, namely: increasing terrorism levels in Africa on the one hand and on the other hand, gaps in the literature on the relationship between globalization and terrorism. First, there has been a recent positive wave of terrorist attacks across Africa due to: endemic corruption, tribal and ethnic tensions and religious fundamentalism (Asongu et al., 2016; Alfa-Wali et al., 2015; Fazel, 2013). Unfortunately, despite the increasing incidences of terrorism, most of the media coverage and focus has substantially been skewed towards the 2 Middle East (see Clavarino, 2014). For instance, according to a recent report on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI, 2014), Nigeria’s Boko Haram represents the deadliest terrorist organisation with 6,644 deaths compared to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) which accounts for 6,073 deaths. Some other notable terrorists’ movements on the continent include: Ansar Al-Shariya in Tunisia; Ansar Dine, led by a former close ally of Gaddafi, Iyad Ag Ghaly; Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Al-Qaeda-linked Mulathameen Brigade led by the Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Some contemporary examples of underlying terrorism activities in Africa include the: 2013 Westgate shopping mall and 2015 Garissa University killings in Kenya by the Al- Shabab; the Bardo National Museum and Sousse attacks in March and June 2015 in Tunisia respectively, from ISIL-affiliated Islamic fundamentalists; wave of Boko Haram attacks in neighboring countries like, Cameroon, Chad and Niger; November 2015 Radison Blu Hotel attack in Mali and Sinai Russian plane crash in Egypt in November 2015. The increasing scale and scope of underlying terrorist activities can be the result of integration and/or globalization-related features. For example, the attacks in Tunisia have fundamentally targeted tourists from developed countries. Moreover, the plethora of inherent weakenesses that Islamic fundamentalists (for the most part) are exploiting include: properous drug trade with a huge demand in Europe, from which profits are reinvested in the financing of terrorism; porous boders; undertrained/underequipped armies because terrorist organisations can easily buy weapons in the Black market and corrupt/vulnerable government agents that can benefit from globalisation-flourishing tax havens by masterfully concealing funds meant to fight terrorism. Moreover, owing to porous boders that are facilitated by growing economic integration, the collapse of the Muammar Gaddafi’s Libyan regime in 2011 has led to a sharp rise in Islamic militancy and insurgency in the Sahel region. Despite the apparent linkage between globalisation and terorism, recent literature on the causes and consequences of terorism in Africa has fundamentally focused on: exploring the role of multilateral development institutions like the African Union (Ewi & Aning, 2006); investigating the role of competition by military companies on the rate at which conflicts are resolved (Akcinaroglu & Radziszewski, 2013); examining the impact of poverty and freedoms on terrorism (Barros et al., 2008); assessing the comparative African economics of governance in combating terrorism (Asongu et al., 2017) and investigating the influence of externalities like geopolitical fluctuations (Straus, 2012). We contribute to the last stream of literature by investigating how globalisation is influencing terrorism in Africa. In order to avail room for more policy implications, four 3 terrorism and globalisation variables are used respectively, namely: (i) domestic, transnational, unclear and total terrorism dynamics and (ii) political, social, economic and general globalisation indicators. The study in the literature closest to the current inquiry is Lutz and Lutz (2014) who have explored the connections between social, economic and political globalisation with terrorism, with particular emphasis on Africa. Unfortunately, the study is exploratory and recommends policy directions based on possible correlations that are not backed by statistical validity. Inferences based on explorations may be biased and policy recommendations based on possible correlations may be misguided because correlations are statistically fragile and falsifiable. We address these shortcomings by presenting empirical evidence that is based on robust causal linkages between globalisation and terrorism. Further to the stylized facts on the connection between globalisation and terrorism, Zimmermann (2011) has documented an interesting body of theoretical underpinnings on the globalisation-terrorism linkage. According to the author, the consequences of globalisation in terms of terrorism may take different forms, namely: religious-cultural, ethno-separatist and ideological. Globalisation within the framework is defined as an intensification and extension in exchange of ideas, persons and commodities (Held et al., 1999). According to the narrative, terrorism is related to globalisation because of the spreading of ideas, mobility of people and increased financial and trade transactions. Terrorism in the narrative: (i) is fundamentally motivated by information asymmetry about time, place and the number of victims attacked and (ii) consists of fear-motivating violent attacks that target civilians with the purpose of influencing polity and political decisions. The definition of terrorism underlying the theoretical underpinnings advanced by Zimmermann (2011) is not very different from that of Enders and Sandler (2006) employed in this study: the actual and threatened use of force by subnational actors with the purpose of employing intimidation to meet political objectives. In addition to the highlighted theoretical underpinnings, globalisation could nurse, habour and fuel terrorism because of numerous logical reasons (Asongu & Nwachukwu, 2017a). (i) Globalisation can encourage religious fundamentalism because three decades ago, religious terrorist cults were very not apparent in the world. (ii) Corollary to the preceding point, gloabalisation can produce sophisticated cross-country networks of terrorist organisations. In this vein, Al-Qaeda and ISIL can be considered as some kind of franchising agencies that work via religious internationalisation/globalisation and/or networks that are state-less. (iii) Globalisation has produced an international political economy wherein two types of nation states exist. On the one hand, industralized and advanced economies influence less developed/industralised economies politico-economically. From the political dimension, 4 calls for ‘regime change’ are a one way street: from developed to developing/poor African countries. From the economic angle, biased policies of globalisation that are dictated by developed countries constraint poor/African countries to remain suppliers of raw materials (see Stiglitz, 2007; Mshomba, 2011). (iv) Globalisation can influence terrorism from a socio- cultural angle because elements of terrorism may perceive the phenomenon as harmful to their system of values and cultures. The literal translation of ‘Boko Haram’ is ‘No to Western Education/Civilisation’. Hence, the belief that Western commodities have negative influences on local people can be a cause of terrorism. In the light of the above, the hypothesis tested in this study is the following: social, political, economic, general dimensions of globalisation fuel terrorism. It is important to substantiate the framing of this hypothesis with a clarification of globalisation concepts