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Sebastian Elischer. 2021. Salafism and Political Order in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 298 pp.
Sebastian Elischer indicates in the introduction to Salafism and Political Order in Africa that the expansion of Salafism on the African continent, particularly the jihadi-Salafi praxis, constitutes an emerging security threat to many African nations (p. 1). To ameliorate understanding of this phenomenon, numerous publications have appeared on the relationship between Salafism and the state in Africa. Yet, as Elischer contends, the focus of much of the extant literature is on nation-states where jihadi Salafi groups have become security challenges, which in turn distract scholars from focusing on nation-states that have successfully "prevented or curtailed" jihadi Salafi activity (pp. 2-3). Therefore, in this volume, seeking to expand the paucity of scholarship in this area, Elischer aims to analyze "why some African countries have become home bases for jihadi Salafi activity while others have managed to prevent or curb homegrown forms thereof in their national territories" (p. 4).
The core argument of the text is that "African states that established organizational gatekeepers prior to the rise of and influence of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations have managed to prevent or...