Scorpions Under Pillow: Terrorism in Africa.

• Author: Nechita, Dan
• Position: Book review

SCORPIONS UNDER PILLOW: TERRORISM IN AFRICA

Shehu Sani

(Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2008), 359 pages.

As terrorism gradually becomes the method of choice not only for extremist factions, but also for marginalized groups in an increasing number of societies, a study of terrorism on the African continent could not be timelier.

Written by Shehu Sani, a Nigerian social critic and human rights activist, Scorpions under Pillow attempts to fill in the gaps created by the disproportionate attention that higher profile issues, such as al-Qaeda, have received in the literature. As such, it is an appropriate departure point for anyone interested in a broad comparative study of terrorism and its origins, and it is a worthy first stop for those scholars interested in sub-Saharan terrorism.

With terrorism on the rise in the African continent--which claims the second largest number of terrorist casualties after Asia--and given that the frail states of Africa are attractive safe-havens for current and future terrorist organizations, Sani's book is timely and relevant. It connects and contextualizes events as far apart as the bombings...