Thursday, July 10, 2014

Kenya, Extremism, and Domestic Politics

The Nairobi office of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published an analysis on 4 July 2014 titled "Politics and Terrorism: Kenya's Ticking Time Bombs" by Peter Aling'o, senior researcher at ISS.  He argues that Kenya's response to recent terrorist attacks in Kenya's coastal region where al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility is becoming mired down in domestic political in-fighting. 

Foreign Affairs published on 9 July 2014 an analysis titled "Kenya Divided: Why the Showdown between Kenyatta and Odinga Is Empowering al-Shabaab" by Paul Hidalgo, an analyst of politics and extremism in the Horn of Africa.  The author makes an argument that is similar to the one made by Aling'o.  You must subscribe to Foreign Affairs to see the entire article or you can register for free to receive up to three articles.

The weekly radio program known as Global Journalist, an NPR affiliate out of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, did a half hour program on this topic on 10 July 2014.  The panelists were Uduak Amimo, who has a radio show in Nairobi, Harrison Misiko, former editor of Kenya's Daily Nation and currently with the Washington Post, and myself.  Click here to access the program.