Terrorism and Kenya’s Foreign Policy: A Contextual Analysis

Terrorism has increasingly become a global problem that affects all states in the international system in which Kenya is not an exception. Being a global problem, states have been thrown into disarray on how to address it yet one such way is exploiting tools of a state’s foreign policy to achieve global cooperation in the fight against Terrorism. This study therefore sought to provide a contextual analysis of terrorism and its dimensions, perspectives, factors that influence it and how it affects Kenya as a state. In addition, the study sought to examine Kenya’s foreign policy with a view to finding out how Kenya’s foreign policy has been shaped by terrorism and how the same has been affected by terrorism in the period between 1998 to 2015. It also examined whether the foreign policy response deployed by Kenya has been effective in combating terrorism. The study utilized instrumental approach as theoretical perspective due to its relevance to the topic of study. The study relied extensively on documentary and secondary sources of data such as scholarly and peer reviewed journals, academic literature, newspaper reports and other existing data on terrorism and its impact on a state’s foreign policy. The study has established Kenya’s foreign policy has not made a significant response to address terrorism more so in terms of addressing the issue of border control cooperation with the neighboring states. It has however not yet firmly dealt with the inherent institutional weakness that hinders the successful fight against terrorism. Kenya is also faced with financial challenges and makes the state unable to provide security for its citizens. However, it is evident that the threat of terrorism has enhanced cooperation between Kenya and other friendly states in the global war against terrorism and her external relations with other countries especially the western nations has soared and rightly so because this western nations have recruited Kenya as its strategic partner in the fight against terrorism in the Horn of Africa. The good working relationship between Kenya, the United States, Israel and Britain has benefited Kenya more than any other nation in the horn of Africa.