A Social Network Analysis of Islamic Terrorism and the Malian Rebellion
CEPS/INSTEAD Working Papers 38
28 Pages Posted: 10 Nov 2012
Date Written: November 9, 2012
Abstract
Using social network analysis, our first aim is to illuminate the relationships between the Islamists and the rebels involved in the Malian conflict. We use a selection of newspaper articles to demonstrate that the connection between Islamists and rebels depends on brokers who passed from the Tuareg rebellion to radical groups. Our second objective is to detail the internal relationships within each of the subgroups. Our findings show how Islamists were affected by the accidental disappearance of one the AQMI regional emirs and how the death of one of the architects of the Tuareg rebellion affected rebel cohesion.
Keywords: terrorism, Islamists, Tuareg rebellion, social network analysis, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Sahel, Sahara
JEL Classification: N47
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation