Inter-Secular Party Competition and the (Non-)Formation of Salafi-Jihadist Milieus: Evidence from Tanzania and Kenya

This article investigates whether inter-secular party competition can constrain the formation of Salafi-jihadist milieus. Focusing on the recent rise of militant Islamism in sub-Saharan Africa, I argue that the electoral process prevents the opening of political space for jihadist radicalization when Salafi contention has historically become aligned with salient non-Islamist grievances. Specifically, I hypothesize that based on this alignment, the competitive electoralization of non-Islamist grievances incentivizes Salafi movements to endorse the electoral process and support secular parties. The article explores the validity of these propositions with the help of a "most-similar" case study of Zanzibar (Tanzania) and coastal Kenya.