Alexander Thurston is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. He was an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations between 2013–14, and has also held fellowships with the Wilson Center and the American Council of Learned Societies. He is the author of Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching and Politics (2016) and Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement (2018) which was named by Foreign Affairs as one of the 'Best of Books 2018' and was a finalist for the African Studies Association's Book Prize in 2019.

'Based on hard-won field research, this outstanding book uncovers the hidden politics of jihadist organizations in North Africa and the Sahel. Thurston's masterful study demonstrates that jihadist commanders are political actors facing complex local pressures to adapt and accommodate. An essential read for security scholars and practitioners alike.' Aisha S. Ahmad, University of Toronto

• Introduction; 1. Algeria: the GIA from incorporation to tyranny; 2. The GSPC/AQIM: schism, coup, and a broken triangle in the Sahara; 3. Northern Mali: dialectics of local support; 4. Central Mali: the possibilities and the limits of incorporation; 5. The Mali-Niger-Burkina Faso borderlands: incorporation and accommodation at the Peripheries; 6. Libya: fratricide in Derna; 7. Mauritania: post-jihadism?; Conclusion. Northwest Africa and the war on terror.

Alexander Thurston is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. He was an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations between 2013–14, and has also held fellowships with the Wilson Center and the American Council of Learned Societies. He is the author of Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching and Politics (2016) and Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement (2018) which was named by Foreign Affairs as one of the 'Best of Books 2018' and was a finalist for the African Studies Association's Book Prize in 2019.

'Based on hard-won field research, this outstanding book uncovers the hidden politics of jihadist organizations in North Africa and the Sahel. Thurston's masterful study demonstrates that jihadist commanders are political actors facing complex local pressures to adapt and accommodate. An essential read for security scholars and practitioners alike.' Aisha S. Ahmad, University of Toronto

• Introduction; 1. Algeria: the GIA from incorporation to tyranny; 2. The GSPC/AQIM: schism, coup, and a broken triangle in the Sahara; 3. Northern Mali: dialectics of local support; 4. Central Mali: the possibilities and the limits of incorporation; 5. The Mali-Niger-Burkina Faso borderlands: incorporation and accommodation at the Peripheries; 6. Libya: fratricide in Derna; 7. Mauritania: post-jihadism?; Conclusion. Northwest Africa and the war on terror.

Alexander Thurston is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. He was an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations between 2013–14, and has also held fellowships with the Wilson Center and the American Council of Learned Societies. He is the author of Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching and Politics (2016) and Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement (2018) which was named by Foreign Affairs as one of the 'Best of Books 2018' and was a finalist for the African Studies Association's Book Prize in 2019.

'Based on hard-won field research, this outstanding book uncovers the hidden politics of jihadist organizations in North Africa and the Sahel. Thurston's masterful study demonstrates that jihadist commanders are political actors facing complex local pressures to adapt and accommodate. An essential read for security scholars and practitioners alike.' Aisha S. Ahmad, University of Toronto

• Introduction; 1. Algeria: the GIA from incorporation to tyranny; 2. The GSPC/AQIM: schism, coup, and a broken triangle in the Sahara; 3. Northern Mali: dialectics of local support; 4. Central Mali: the possibilities and the limits of incorporation; 5. The Mali-Niger-Burkina Faso borderlands: incorporation and accommodation at the Peripheries; 6. Libya: fratricide in Derna; 7. Mauritania: post-jihadism?; Conclusion. Northwest Africa and the war on terror.