Kenya's foreign policy behaviour: Response to international terrorism, 1998-2012

Abstract

Terrorism and measures to combat it have become the focus of passionate international effort. The study seeks to investigate Kenya’s foreign policy behavior in response to international terrorism with reference to the period 1998 to 2012. This paper seeks to evaluate the response of Kenya’s foreign policy towards international terrorism between the periods 1998 to 2012. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis. The population of the study comprises the officials from the ministry of foreign affairs, and Counter-Terrorism Centre. A purposive sampling technique was used to select a total 17 officers from the two study areas. The study uses data from both primary and secondary data. Primary data was obtained through semi-structured questionnaires with both open and closed ended questions. Secondary sources of data include analysis and review of published books, journals, papers, periodicals, and unpublished works; Government documents including policy documents and Sessional Papers, media sources and the internet. The study found out that there have been various responses by Kenya through its foreign policy with regards to international terrorism from 1998 to 2012. This involves various enactments and different modes of co-operation with international actors in the fight against the menace. It also found out that the government has to some extent realized some success in the war against terrorism through the use of institutions such as Anti- Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and Counter Terrorism Center. Further, the study found out that the main focus of Kenya’s foreign policy is economic diplomacy aimed at achieving sustainable economic development. The study recommends that further study be conducted to obtain additional data on how to deal with the ever present acts of international terrorism.