The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics

The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics offers a comprehensive analysis of Nigeria's very rich history and ever changing politics to its readers. It provides a deep understanding of Nigeria's socio-political evolution and experience by covering broad range of political issues and historical eras.

The volume encompasses 44 chapters organized thematically into essays covering history, political institutions, civil society, economic and social policy, identity and insecurity, and Nigeria in a globalized world. By identifying many of the classic debates in Nigerian politics, the chapters serve as an authoritative introduction to Africa's most populous country. The chapters are interdisciplinary, introducing readers to classic debates and key research on Nigeria, as well as new methodologies, new data, and a compelling corpus of research questions for the next generation of researchers and readers interested in Africa.

A. Carl LeVan is Associate Professor in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. He is the author of Nigerian Party Competition in a Time of Transition and Terror (forthcoming) as well as Dictators and Democracy in Africa Development: the Political Economy of Good Governance in Nigeria (2015).


Patrick Ukata is the former Director of the American University and American University of Nigeria's Washington Office. He is currently a professorial lecturer at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.

Introduction, A. Carl LeVan and Patrick Ukata
Part I: Locating Nigeria in African History
1. From Borno to Sokoto: Meaning and Muslim Identities in Northern Nigeria, Murray Last
2. State Formation in Precolonial Nigeria, Nonso Obikili
3. Precolonial Christianity and Missionary Legacies, Shobana Shankar
4. The Atlantic Slave Trade and its Lasting Impact, Wasiq N. Khan
5. Colonial Rule, Matthew M. Heaton and Toyin Falola
6. The Anti-Colonial Struggle in Nigeria, Rotimi Ajayi
7. Women's Protests in the Struggle for Independence, Chiedo Nwankwor
8. The Nigerian Novel and the Anti-Colonial Imagination, Cajetan Iheka
9. Ecologies of Rule: Politics, Political Economy and Governing the Environment in Nigeria, Michael J. Watts
Part II: Political Institutions
10. The Long Shadow of Nigeria's Military Epochs, 1966-1979 and 1983-1999, Eghosa E. Osaghae
11. Fiscal Federalism, Subnational Politics, and State Creation in Contemporary Nigeria, Olufunmbi M. Elemo
12. The Legislatures in the First and Second Republics, Joseph Olayinka Fashagba
13. Legislative Development and Decadence in the Fourth Republic National Assembly, Rotimi T. Suberu
14. Sharia Politics, the 1999 Constitution, and the Rise of the Fourth Republic, Olufemi Vaughan
15. Executive Dominance and Hyper Presidentialism in Nigeria, Yahaya T. Baba
16. Civil Military Affairs and Military Culture in Post-Transition Nigeria, Max Siollun
17. Progress and Setbacks in Nigeria's Anti-Corruption Efforts, Daniel Jordan Smith
18. The Judiciary in Nigeria Since 1999, Patrick Ukata
19. Elections and Electoral Performance, Nkwachukwu Orji
20. Drivers and Dynamics of Electoral Reform, 1999-2015, A. Carl LeVan and Abiodun Ajijola
21. The People's Democratic Party: From the 1999 Transition to the 2015 Turnover, Adigun Agbaje, Adeolu Akande, and Jide Ojo
Part III: Civil Society
22. Civil Society in Nigeria, Darren Kew and Chris M. A. Kwaja
23. The Political Struggles of Nigerian Labor, Jon Kraus
24. In the trenches with Fela: Reassessing Protest Political Music Culture before the Fourth Republic, Garhe Osiebe
25. Nigeria's Non-Western Democracy: A Postcolonial Aspiration and Struggle with Opportunity, Conflict, and Transformation, Rita Kiki Edozie
26. Women's Contemporary Struggles for Rights and Representation, Cheryl O'Brien
27. Human Rights Status in Nigeria Since Obasanjo' Second Coming, Idayat Hassan
28. Revenue and Representation: The Political Economy of Public Participation, Oliver Owen
Part IV: Economic and Social Sectors: Policies and Peoples
29. Fiscal Policy during Boom and Bust, Kingsley Moghalu and Nonso Obikili
30. Nigeria's Petroleum Booms: A Changing Political Economy, Peter M. Lewis
31. The 'Resource Curse' and the Constraints on Reforming Nigeria's Oil Sector, Zainab Usman
32. Nigeria's Response to the HIV Epidemic, Olusoji Adeyi, Oluwole Odutolu, John Idoko, and Phyllis Kanki
Part V: Identity and Insecurity
33. Islamic Social Movements and Political Unrest in Nigerian History, Abimbola O. Adesoji
34. The Origins of Boko Haram, Kyari Mohammed
35. Boko Haram: Indigeneity, Internationalism, and Insurgency, Virginia Comolli
36. The Nigerian Civil War and the Biafran Secessionist Revival, Obi Nwakanma
37. The Rise and Decline (and Rise) of the Niger Delta Rebellion, Omolade Adunbi
38. Crime, Cults, and Informal Security, Kemi Okenyodo
39. Land, Citizenship, and the Laws of Disenfranchisement, V. Adefemi Isumonah
40. Pastoralism, Ethnicity, and Subnational Conflict Resolution in the Middle Belt, Laura Thaut Vinson
41. Nigeria and the World: War, Nationalism, and Politics, 1914-1960, Oliver Coates
42. Nigeria and the Commonwealth: Influence by Accident or Design, Elizabeth Donnelly and Daragh Neville
43. Faith, Fame, and Fortune: Varieties of Nigerian Worship in Global Christianity, Asonzeh Ukah
44. he Pathology of Dependency: Sino-Nigerian Relatins as a Case Study, Ian Taylor