Patterns of Elite Bargains and State Resilience in Nigeria

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Introduction

The purpose of this research is to examine the role of elite bargains in promoting state resilience in Nigeria. Various factors like the civil war, military dictatorship, ethno-religious crises and the recent Boko Haram have undermined Nigeria’s unity. In spite of these factors, Nigeria has maintained fourteen years of continuous democratic rule, introduced various economic reforms and exhibited virtual military capacity to contain insurgencies. This research links the role of elite bargains to Nigeria’s resilience, the degree to which a state can withstand and recover from the shocks of state fragility. It proposes four patterns of bargains which may lead to resilience even if it is not the initial objective.
In recent times, high profile international stabilization efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan has led to an increased concern for fragile states (Siegel, 2011). Indeed, one of the most important lessons from the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States affirms that in an age of globalization, no country, regardless of how remote it is can be ignored without incurring political, economic, security and social risks (Siegel, 2011). Adding to this growing concern is a rise in the number of fragile states across the world, and Africa is not left out in this trend. According to the World Bank (2002), 22 out of the 48 Sub-Saharan African countries are classified as fragile (Andriamihaja, Cinyabuguma &Devarajan, 2011)
Traditional response by the international community to fragile states revolves around the provision of physical security, legitimate political institutions, economic management and social services delivery. (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2006 p.7; ...

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Uche, C., & Uche, O. (2004). Oil and the politics of revenue allocation in nigeria. (54 ed.). Leiden: African Studies Centre
Udogu , E. (2005). Nigeria in the twenty first century: Strategies for political stability and peaceful co-existence. Trenton,NJ: African World Press Inc.
Udogu,E.(1992). In search of political stability and survival: toward Nigeria’s Third Republic. Retieved from http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Udogu_Ike_1992_In_Search_of_Political_ORIG.pdf
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