Operation ‘Degrade Al-Shabaab Capacity’: Kenyan Mission with No Winners, But Losers
If there is any lesson that the war on terror, now ten years old and counting, has brought to the surface, it is that conventional military is the worst possible tool to fight an insurgent group that coexists with and feeds from a complex crisis. The harder you hit the perceived stronghold with conventional strategies and weapons, the more complex the situation becomes. In this article, Patrick Mugo Mugo asks: what happens when you decide, as the Kenyan government, to go after the tail of Al-Shabaab and not its head? If we can assume that Al-Shabaab is an invisible creature of a complex crisis, what does that tell us about Somalia’s dithering Transitional Federal Government, which the Kenyan incursion purports to help? Why should the Kenyan government, well aware of American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, invade Somalia following the same script without even editing or rephrasing it? Even if the Kenyan military succeeds in ‘degrading Al-Shabaab capacity’, who will fill the void created in southern Somalia? But before all that, is it Al-Shabaab that is the problem, or is it the analyses that have come forth since al-Shabaab became credible threat?
Fertility and development: The legacy of structural adjustment policies in Kenya
Women and women’s bodies have become a central element in development. This article examines structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in Kenya, which sought to control women’s bodies in order to reach the desired fertility rates and economic growth. After reviewing the history and ideologies behind SAPs, as well as their contradictory application, this article argues that, when SAPs were applied to Kenya, they led to the implementation of culturally and economically inappropriate programs that were ultimately ineffective. The article concludes with policy recommendations and an overview of current movements.
Kenya’s New Constitution
In the following article, John Onyando comments on the new constitution in Kenya. He argues, “Overwhelming endorsement for the new constitution could be a major turning point. But only if an ambitious long-term process made by the people for the people can protect itself from sectarianisms old and new.”
The Year 2003: A Beacon of Hope in Eastern Africa
With the year 2003 drawing to an end in less than two months, Ferdinand Katendeko, despite the history of conflict and simmering violence in many parts of the region, looks at the countries that compose the Inter Government Authority on Development (IGAD), and finds much to be hopeful about.
Islamic Courts Union was Better Placed to Pacify Somalia
Islamic Courts Union was Better Placed to Pacify Somalia Author: Dominic Pkalya Originally Published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on: 04/17/2007 When the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was driven out of Mogadishu in December 2006 by a combination of Ethiopian and the Transitional Federal Government forces, many pundits were quick to note that Somalia has […]
Rising violence and insecurity as Kenya’s general elections approach
Diversity and conflicting interest are both a curse and a blessing in post-conflict and violent societies, subject to the way they are managed within an electoral process, more so during the transition period. Patrick Mugo Mugo looks at the unfolding challenges in Kenya as the date of general elections beckons (March 2013). Of particular concern is rising insecurity and violence that could end up determining who votes, and therefore who gets elected.
2011 in Peace and Conflict
The Peace and Conflict Monitor digests some of 2011’s most relevant events in peace and conflict.
Going back
This is part II of an interview with Yassir Kori relates his flight from Sudan that finally brought him to safety in the United States. Kori walked across Sudan and Ethiopia for over a month, working along the way to finance his trip as he tried to escape from a government that wanted to kill him.
A Long Walk
This is part I of an interview with Yassir Kori relates his flight from Sudan that finally brought him to safety in the United States. Kori walked across Sudan and Ethiopia for over a month, working along the way to finance his trip as he tried to escape from a government that wanted to kill him.
Somalia and the Slippery Slope of Jubbaland
Abukar Arman discusses the political crisis in Jubbaland in terms of the Somalian government’s reaction, the potential of the crisis to trigger further unrest, and the complicating role of kenyan and Ethiopian troops.