KENYA’S ROLE IN REGIONAL PEACE AND STABILITY; CASE STUDY OF SUDAN

Abstract

Kenya has frequently participated in conflict resolution in Eastern Africa. The peace process ended after the signing of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that proposed a two-state solution through which the Republic of Sudan was divided into the Republic of Sudan, covering the northern parts of the formerly unified state of Sudan, while the southern part formed the Republic of South Sudan. The Sudan peace process is part of recent regionalization of domestic conflicts in Africa. The main problem in this project was to undertake a critical review of the role that Kenya played in regional diplomacy during the deliberations and negotiations that led to the signing of the CPA in Sudan and how that has defined Kenya as the East Africa’s regional hegemon. The main objectives of this study were to: assess the role played by Kenya in regional peace and stability. Specific objectives of this study were: to critically assess Kenya’s motivation in contributing to regional security; examine the strategies that Kenya deploys in regional security and peace building with a case study of the Sudan conflict and to find out the challenges Kenya faced in her mission to achieving peace in Sudan. This study has both policy and academic relevance. At the policy front the redirection of the policy agenda in the region serves to facilitate and improve its trade and economic benefits as well as redefine its international, but more importantly region status. Policy makers and scholars alike will therefore be provided with a new view of Kenya in the region. The research used a qualitative method, where observation, description, interpretation and analysis of how people experience, act on, or think about themselves and the world around them. It was found out that Kenya’s participation in regional peace efforts was motivated by the following: Insecurity and Economic interests; direct economic benefits of a peaceful neighbor; hegemonic pursuit and geo-strategic as factors in comprehensive peace process; Kenya’s self-perception and regional-perception; hegemonic projection of preferences and values. To achieve this, Kenya used preventive diplomacy as a tool by sending political missions as preventive diplomacy strategy. In addition, Kenya used preventive military deployment. In the peace process, it’s found out that Kenya faced the following challenges: Ensuring inclusivity of all key stakeholders in the peace process; lack of mutual trust between participants in the peace process; a weak mediation process; dealing with fragmentation of Southern Liberation Movements. It was concluded that participation by Kenya in Sudan conflict was influenced by hegemonic and geopolitical reasons not just humanitarian factors.