Is Boko Haram consistently motivated by the need for a territorial caliphate? That is, the creation of the Community of Ummah rather than religion as their envisioned motivation. We seek to take this question seriously due to a series of studies that have started drawing conclusions on the territorial goal of most terrorist organisations. One of such body of literature focuses on the relationship between terrorist groups’ proclivity for territory and ungoverned space, or the axiom that politics includes legitimate dominion over a spatial extension. Drawing extensively from the territorial assumptions as well as critical discourse analyses of speeches, we argue that the Community of Ummah in West Africa partly informs Boko Haram’s objective. This assertion found its clearest expression in the administration of Kannama village, the declaring of Gwoza as the Caliphate Headquarters and the use of Sambisa Forest and Lake Chad areas for sanctuaries, planning and executions of attacks and threats. Understanding Boko Haram’s geographical motivation has its merit of adopting a more offensive and proactive counterterrorism that aims at destroying terrorist resources, eliminating safe havens and undertaking actions that improve the retention of liberated spaces.

中文翻译：

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博科圣地叛乱：十年的动态演变和为哈里发而奋斗

博科圣地是否始终出于对领土哈里发国的需求？也就是说，他们设想的动机是创建乌玛社区而不是宗教。由于一系列研究已经开始就大多数恐怖组织的领土目标得出结论，我们试图认真对待这个问题。此类文献之一侧重于恐怖组织对领土的偏好与不受控制的空间之间的关系，或者政治包括对空间扩展的合法统治的公理。广泛借鉴领土假设以及对演讲的批判性话语分析，我们认为西非的乌玛社区在一定程度上反映了博科圣地的目标。这种说法在 Kannama 村的管理中得到了最明确的表达，宣布 Gwoza 为哈里发总部，并使用 Sambisa 森林和乍得湖地区作为避难所、计划和执行攻击和威胁。了解博科圣地的地理动机有其优点，即采取更具攻击性和主动性的反恐措施，旨在摧毁恐怖分子资源、消除安全避难所并采取行动改善解放空间的保留率。