Cross-Border Conflicts and Social-Economic Development along the Kenya-Ethiopia Border: A Case of Turkana County
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Date
2024-10
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
Kenya borders South Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda on the western side. This border is ladened with cross-border conflict involving the Turkana of Kenya, Dasanach and Nyangatom of Ethiopia, Toposa of South Sudan, and Karamoja of Uganda. The cross-border conflicts between the pastoral communities of Kenya and Ethiopia continue to ravage the social-economic development of cross-border communities on the northwestern border of Kenya in Turkana County. Thus, this study focused on how managing the cross-border conflicts improved social economic growth in Turkana County on the Kenyan-Ethiopian border. The study was guided by three objectives: To examine the effect of cross-border conflicts on the social economic development of Turkana County on the Kenya-Ethiopia border, To assess the measures for enhancing intervention mechanisms for managing cross-border conflicts and social economic development of the Turkana County on the Kenya-Ethiopia border and to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention mechanisms for managing the cross-border conflicts and the social economic development of the Turkana County on the Kenya-Ethiopia border. The scope of the study was to gain more insight into the cross-border conflict ravaging the pastoral communities on the Kenyan-Ethiopian border, especially in Turkana County and how the social economic development of the area was affected. The study employed constructivism theory, which guided the study on the causal factors leading to cross-border conflicts to have a more nuanced approach to the factors that transcend cross-border conflict. The study was meant to give insight into the current state of affairs along the Kenyan-Ethiopian border and enable the state to initiate the suggested strategies to improve Kenya-Ethiopian relations. The study used an explanatory research design and multistage sampling. The study area was Turkana County, on the border between Kenya and Ethiopia. The researcher sampled from the targeted population of 65,218, derived from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics 2019 census of Turkana North Constituency, and by using Slovin's formula, a sample size of 392 respondents were used in the study. The study also used the questionnaire, interview schedule, focus group discussion and observation to collect primary data; the data was analysised using descriptive statistics and contend analysis. The findings indicated the effect of the high prevalence of cross-border conflicts and considerable impact on the social and economic development of the people in Turkana County. It also showed that there were various interventions measures to resolve the conflict. The measures included disarmament, arms control, managing border points and the judicial systems. Several effective intervention mechanisms were noted, such as using kraal elders and regional councils to relay information from the government to the communities and preventing cross-border conflict escalation. Concerning the management of cross-border conflicts, an intergovernmental approach was recommended that both states pool resources and enhance the livelihood of the border communities through shared facilities, which prevent one community from falling behind the other and becoming the source of continued conflict.
Description
A Research Project Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy in the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences of Kenyatta University, October 2024.
Supervisor
Andrew Mung’ale