External Threats to Human Security in Kenya with Reference to the Conflict in Somalia

Abstract

The study deals with the external threats to human security in Kenya with reference to the conflict in Somalia. The central question of the study is whether the Kenyan government’s conceptualization and response to the human security challenges resulting from the conflict in Somalia is resolving the human security challenges in Kenya. At a theoretical level the research explores the concept of human security and how it is conceptualized in Kenya. At a practical level the paper assesses the conflict in Somalia, the human security challenges that have resulted in Kenya due to the conflict in Somalia and the government’s conceptualization of and response to the threats.

The main finding of the study reflected that Kenya’s response to the conflict in Somalia and the human security threats emanating from the conflict were dependent on the security interests of the state and determined by the intensity of threats emanating from Somalia at different times. While some positive outcomes were realised, the state’s aggressive approach towards the conflict in Somalia, through military intervention and counter terrorism efforts, outweighed the good. The failure to also adequately implement policies and manage refugee affairs created human insecurity in the rural areas that affected the access to basic needs, while the urban areas were plagued with issues of ethnic profiling, human rights violations and the marginalisation of the Kenyan Muslim community. While state security was prioritised, the core of Kenya’s main strategies created more human insecurity rather than offering solutions towards acquiring human security.