ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some potential generalizations about how Boko Haram relates to war in Africa in general. Peacemaking is only possible if one can identify the conflict. Boko Haram tells us something about war in Africa, and war in Africa can tell us something about Boko Haram. There are three broad categories to which Africa's wars are held prisoner, and each comes with an explanation: interstate war, civil war and the so-called new wars. Wars across states create vast conflict zones. In some cases, these zones can create interlocking regions of conflict. For instance, the conflict zone with Darfur at its center envelops the periphery of Sudan and Chad. The conflict in Chad also spills across the northwest Africa conflict zone and laps at the shore of the Boko Haram conflict. Interstate war in postcolonial Africa has been rare. 'Civil war' is the classical complement to 'interstate' war.
