Arbitrary borders + tribal politics describes pretty much all of it. I mean, we talk about Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq like they are countries, but they're real

Arbitrary borders + tribal politics describes pretty much all of it. I mean, we talk about Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq like they are countries, but they're really more like negative space. Africa absolutely suffers the same kind of chaos and terrorism -- we just don't hear about it because it's less densely populated and the people there have darker skin. But Boko Haram is still a huge problem in Nigeria and Islamic fundamentalism in Somalia is a way bigger problem than you would think given the total lack of news coverage (the US launches almost as many drone strikes on eastern Africa as it does in the middle east). Much of sub-saharan Africa is still under de-facto apartheid. Wealthy (often white) land owners are in bed with corrupt government officials who, while black, are more than happy to continue the status quo as long as they get paid. It's very hard to have a cohesive ideology behind your insurgency when there are for-profit death squads operating in the area. But you're right; there is also no great unifying force for the people in the area like there is in the middle east and north Africa.