ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses primarily on Nigeria's foreign and security policy in the regional context of West Africa, which has always been an important topic for political analysts and media commentators on the region. The traditional approach to Nigeria's way 'of adapting to the environment and solving problems with respect to the threat and use of force', has been largely based on realist interpretations. The chapter illustrates how specific historical, cultural, societal, geographical and political influences have shaped Nigeria's strategic postures in West Africa and is, in effect, an attempt to evaluate the influence of 'strategic culture' on the country's policy towards the region. It argues that Nigeria's foreign and security policy has been defined both in terms of particular domestic motivations and imperatives, as well as international realpolitik considerations. The chapter evaluates how these sources of strategic culture influence Nigeria's pro-interventionism.
