Framing Non-Violent Protest and Insurgency Boko Haram and MASSOB in Nigeria Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen vorgelegt von Jan Sändig aus Wiesbaden Tübingen 2015 Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 28.7.2016 Dekan: Professor Dr. rer. soc. Josef Schmid 1. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Andreas Hasenclever 2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Andreas Mehler Contents FIGURES AND TABLES ...................................................................................... VIII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................... IX MAPS .................................................................................................................... XI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... XIV 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 1.1. Theories on Rebellion Onset and Goal of this Study ..................................................... 1 1.2. Cases and Research Puzzle ............................................................................................ 4 1.3. The Framing of Peaceful and Violent Protest ............................................................... 9 1.4. Methodology and Data .................................................................................................. 10 1.5. Structure ......................................................................................................................... 11 2. THEORY: RESEARCH ON REBELLION ........................................................... 13 2.1. Mapping the Research Field ......................................................................................... 13 2.2. Opportunity ................................................................................................................... 14 2.3. Grievances ...................................................................................................................... 22 2.4. Patronage Politics ..........................................................................................................28 3. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE CASES ........................................... 31 3.1. Background on Nigeria ................................................................................................. 31 3.1.1. Divided Society.................................................................................................. 31 3.1.2. Oil, Federalism, and Neopatrimonialism ......................................................... 33 3.2. Boko Haram ................................................................................................................... 36 3.2.1. Background: Islam in Nigeria ........................................................................... 37 3.2.2. Boko Haram’s Non-Violent Phase (2002 until mid-2009)............................... 39 3.2.3. Boko Haram’s Rebellion (since mid-2009) ...................................................... 41 3.3. MASSOB ....................................................................................................................... 48 3.3.1. Background: Igbo in Nigeria ............................................................................ 48 3.3.2. MASSOB’s Structure ......................................................................................... 51 3.3.3. MASSOB’s Non-Violent Protest ....................................................................... 54 iii 4. APPLYING CIVIL WAR THEORIES TO THE CASES ........................................ 59 4.1. Opportunity ...................................................................................................................59 4.1.1. Politics and Military ..........................................................................................59 4.1.2. Socio-Economic Conditions ............................................................................. 61 4.1.3. Demographic Conditions .................................................................................. 63 4.1.4. “Greed” and Organized Crime ......................................................................... 64 4.1.5. Geographic Conditions .....................................................................................67 4.1.6. External Support .............................................................................................. 68 4.1.7. Brief Summary ...................................................................................................70 4.2. Grievances ...................................................................................................................... 71 4.2.1. Horizontal Inequalities: Muslims in Northern Nigeria ................................... 72 4.2.2. Horizontal Inequalities: The Igbo .................................................................... 73 4.2.3. Vertical Inequality ............................................................................................. 75 4.2.4. Repression against Boko Haram .......................................................................76 4.2.5. Repression against MASSOB ........................................................................... 80 4.2.6. Brief Summary ................................................................................................... 85 4.3. Patronage Politics ......................................................................................................... 86 4.3.1. Boko Haram...................................................................................................... 86 4.3.2. MASSOB ........................................................................................................... 89 4.3.3. Brief Summary ................................................................................................... 91 4.4. Summary: Explanatory Gap in Rebellion Research ......................................................92 5. THE FRAMING APPROACH .......................................................................... 94 5.1. What is Framing? ......................................................................................................... 94 5.2. Framing in Social Movement Research ........................................................................95 5.2.1. Framing and other Theoretical Approaches ....................................................95 5.2.2. Collective Action Frames ................................................................................. 98 5.2.3. Frame Development ......................................................................................... 99 5.2.4. Frame Resonance ............................................................................................. 101 5.3. Framing in Rebellion Research? ................................................................................. 105 5.3.1. Ideational Approaches in Rebellion Research ............................................... 105 5.3.2. Traces of Framing in the Study of Rebellion .................................................. 108 5.4. Framing Model and Methodology ............................................................................... 110 5.4.1. Integrating Framing into Rebellion Research ................................................. 110 5.4.2. Methodology: Collective Action Frames ......................................................... 113 iv 5.4.3. Methodology: Frame Resonance ..................................................................... 115 5.4.3.1. Interviews ............................................................................................. 116 5.4.3.2. Media Sources ...................................................................................... 119 5.4.3.3. Surveys ................................................................................................. 121 6. CASE STUDY: BOKO HARAM’S FRAMING ................................................... 122 6.1. Collective Action Frames .............................................................................................122 6.1.1. Introducing the Boko Haram Corpus ..............................................................122 6.1.2. Overview: Boko Haram’s Collective Action Frames ....................................... 125 6.1.3. Diagnostic Framing ......................................................................................... 126 6.1.3.1. The “boko Conspiracy” ........................................................................ 126 6.1.3.2. Security Threats and Repression ........................................................ 128 6.1.3.3. Socio-Economic Grievances ................................................................ 131 6.1.4. Prognostic Framing .......................................................................................... 132 6.1.4.1. Islamic Principles ................................................................................. 132 6.1.4.2. Migration .............................................................................................. 133 6.1.4.3. Jihad ...................................................................................................... 135 6.1.5. Motivational Framing ..................................................................................... 140 6.1.6. Brief Summary: Migration and Jihad for Imposing Islamic Principles ......... 144 6.2. Frame