| dc.description.abstract | In order to protect their sovereignty, nations have at their exposure both soft and hard
diplomatic tools and approaches to apply. Foreign policy is one of the key diplomatic
tools at the exposure of governments who are keen to defend their territories against
foreign aggressors. Policies therefore, both domestic and foreign, play a crucial and
irreplaceable role in the fight against modern terrorism. The East Africa region has
experienced prolonged and severe intra- and inter-state conflict which has led to
poverty, instability and political isolation which result in the regions vulnerability to
terrorist exploitation. Kenya’s conservative low-risk and non-interventionist approach
to peace-making and peace-building that was grounded in principles of ‘good
neighbourliness’ and respect for national sovereignty, changed dramatically in October
2011 with the nation’s unprecedented military intervention in Somalia. The general
objective of this research study was to establish the influence terror activities have had
on Kenya’s foreign policy shift between the years 2005 to 2020. The specific objectives
of this study are as follows; to assess the influence of radicalization on foreign policy
shift, to establish how terrorism financing inspired foreign policy shift, to determine the
influence of cyberterrorism on foreign policy changes, and to assess the challenges
experienced in the implementation of foreign policy shift in Kenya between the years
2005 to 2020. The findings of the study are expected to be essential to policy makers in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior and Coordination
of National Government, as well as the academia. Realism Theory and Role
Approach Theory were used to guide this study. Descriptive research design was chosen
for this study. Analysis of the data was conducted using a mixture of qualitative and
quantitative research methods. The research study was primarily performed in Nairobi.
The target population of this study was comprised the KDF, National Intelligence
Services (NIS), Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Anti-Terrorism Police
Unit (ATPU). The study also targeted officers from the Political Diplomatic Secretary
Office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officers from the Banking Fraud
Investigations Unit. Participants for this research were chosen using non-probability
sampling, specifically heterogeneous sampling. The study established that Kenya’s
foreign policy was substantially influenced by influenced by terrorism activities not
only within and outside Kenya. Increase in radicalizations activities in the country
motivated shifts in Kenya’s foreign policies as indicated by the government’s decision
to send troops into Somalia’s territory to combat the militants. Growing terror financing
activities occasioned the government to amend the country’s foreign policies towards
addressing terrorism within Kenya’s territory. Intensified cyberterrorism activities also
instigated Kenya’s decision to shift its policies to combat the security threats.
Implementation of the policy shifts has not been without challenges such as laxity in
policy enforcement, poor coordination among security agencies. Furtherance to shift in
foreign policy to address radicalization, the following recommendations are made;
development of intercultural policies by the policy makers to foster a culture of
diversity by encouraging intercultural mixing and interaction as well as political and
civic participation, management of conflict positively by engaging with instead of
criminalising those holding extremist views where judicious and practical,
complementing the foreign policies with strong legislations that deter terrorism
financing, and enhancing levels of cooperation among intelligence agencies both
nationally and internationally. | en_US |
