Thursday, October 23, 2014

Roots of Radicalism in East Africa

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 20 October 2014 a summary titled "The Roots of Radicalism Should Inform Government's Response to Terror" by Anneli Botha, ISS in Pretoria.  This cogent analysis based on three separate studies in Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia concludes that what primarily pushed young Kenyans to join al-Shabaab  and the Mombasa Republican Council were injustices at the hands of Kenyan security forces.  Many young Somalis in Kenya joined al-Shabaab in response to a threat to their religious identity while those in Somalia were more influenced by economic issues.