The 2022 Conference on Islamic Protest, Terrorism and Security brought researchers from various disciplines together with policymakers, students and academics to broaden and deepen the understanding of violent insurgencies and terrorism as multi-dimensional phenomena to be examined from innovative and multi-disciplinary perspectives. This conference was sponsored by the project “Boko Haram, Islamic Protest and National Security”, a Canadian SSHRC Partnership Development Grant funded initiative, in partnership with the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC), Yaoundé and the Sahel Research Group (University of Florida). In addition, an international research network of scholars from the University of Maroua, York University, University of Florida through its Sahel Research Group, and Non-Government Organizations in Cameroon and Nigeria was created. This network has been successful in sharing information among its members, who have examined the determinants of political violence, and fostering creative partnerships which have produced academic publications, policy recommendations and innovative opportunities for future scholarship. To further these innovations, the 2022 Conference brought together 45 participants (31 international speakers from 16 different countries: USA, Canada, Italy, Turkey, France, Norway, Germany, Scotland, Netherlands, England, Northern Ireland, China, Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso) and 14 national speakers. Led by an international team of three scholars, respectively from Cameroon (Chétima), USA (Villalón) and Canada (Lovejoy), this event was designed to have a lasting impact by advancing future global research partnerships. It created a forum to discuss ideas between academics, policy makers, and NGO actors, and supported future relationships between these groups by expanding the network of stakeholders in the project and its goals of understanding the underlying motivations of violence and extremism in the Sahel region of Africa.

The first day of the conference welcomed researchers from around the globe at a plenary event to introduce keynote speaker, Professor Leonardo Villalón, who spoke on: “Between Democracy and Militancy: Making Sense of Islamic Movements in the Sahel since 1990.” Following this plenary event, 10 panels of 4 to 5 speakers each explored the following themes: Panel 1: Terrorism in Africa: Theoretical Perspectives ; Panel 2 - History, Jihad and the Ideology of War; Panel 3 - Nature and Evolution of African Jihads; Panel 4 - Islam, Violence and Political Salafism; Panel 5 - Education and Terrorism; Panel 6 - Combating Terrorism; Panel 7 - Women, Youth and Human Rights; Panel 8 - Traditional, National and International Institutions and Restorative Justice; Panel 9 - Identification in the context of Terrorism; and Panel 10 - Technology, Media and Terrorism. In addition to the panels, roundtables featured four distinguished scholars discussing on “Terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism in Africa”: Saibou Issa (University of Maroua, expert on Boko Haram in Cameroon), Ahmat Yacoub Dabio (CEDPE Ndjamena, expert on Boko Haram in Chad), Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos (IRD Paris, expert on Boko Haram in Nigeria), Seidik Abba, Journalist and Researcher, expert on Boko Haram in Niger), Scott MacEachern (Duke Kunshan University, Archaeologist and expert on Violence in the Lake Chad Basin’s history).