Abstract:
This doctoral dissertation explores the conditions or set of conditions necessary and
or sufficient to facilitate or impede human rights when governments respond to
terrorism in sub-Saharan Africa.
Relying on a theoretical model that isolates significant macrosocial conditions
suggested by theory (liberal democratic and constructivist theories) and extant
empirical studies, the dissertation employs a research design that combines
Comparative Qualitative Analysis – QCA, specifically Crisp Set Comparative
Qualitative Analysis (csQCA) and an in depth case study of Mali to test five hypotheses
in the form of necessary conditions that facilitate human rights, and uncover additional
important factors unique in the structure of African societies.
It is established that government preference for human over state security (here
measured by more government expenditure on welfare than on military) and poor
economic and administrative capacity (here measured by the absence of transparency
and accountability coupled with a high level of corruption in the public sector) are
necessary conditions that facilitate and impede human rights respectively in
counterterrorist policies in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, it is established that
ancient African social norms, cultural practices and traditions that promote justice and
human rights passed down the generations through socialization play an important
role in facilitating human rights in counterterrorist policies in sub-Saharan Africa.
