Fighting Terrorism in the Horn of Africa : The Role of Ordinary Kenyans in Kenya's Military Intervention in Somalia and the Fight Against al-Shabaab

Abstract

Anti-terrorism strategies and studies on terrorism, including those on terrorism in the East and Horn of Africa, tend to be state-centric. Using Lederach's pyramid approach to peacebuilding, this paper argues that Kenya's state-centric military intervention in Somalia contributes to the instability. The paper argues that Kenya's intervention in Somalia is centred on the top-level leadership and excludes the middle and grassroot-level leadership. Thus, to build sustainable peace, the paper argues that the middle and grassroot-level leadership must be included in the peacebuilding process. This is a qualitative study that relies on secondary data sources.