The time has come to reflect soberly on the significance of the Westgate mall siege and other terrorist attacks, and what lessons must be drawn to prevent another tragedy. The imminent danger remains…
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Special Issues
Terrorism Demands Rethinking of National and Regional Security
by Godwin Murunga
The Westgate Mall terror attack of September 21 has raised many questions about the nature of national security in Kenya and regional security in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa. These questions call for a rethinking of how security operations are conceived and executed, as well as an understanding of how the war on terror has raised new stakes and demanded different approaches to security.
Special Issues
Westgate, Counterterrorism, and Good Governance in Africa
by Ato Kwamena Onoma
The September 21 Al-Shabaab attack was a significant blow to the difficult process of state building on the continent, producing a sort of fear that prompts advocates of good governance to give states a blank check in the so-called ‘war on terror.’ People in Somalia and other countries touched by Somalia’s instability should, above all else, rededicate themselves to the fight for good governance and try to recapture the respect for human rights (including those of terrorists), as well as the commitment to the rule of law (including when dealing with terrorists) that such attacks tempt us to cast aside.
Special Issues
The “Somali Question” and Ghosts of Past Security Dialogues in Africa
by 'Funmi Olonisakin
The Westgate mall attack in Kenya–one of the most recent indicators of the continuing rise in the use of terror by a network of insurrectionary groups in Africa and globally–compels us to reflect on extant approaches to national and regional security. The challenge that confronts Kenya (and indeed the rest of the continent and elsewhere) is whether it can conceive the security of Somalia and Somalis as an integral part of the security of the Kenyan state and people, as well as the neighboring region.
Book Reviews
The Globalization Paradox: Why Global Markets, States, and Democracy Can’t Coexist, by Dani Rodrik
by Godwin Onuoha
As the world continues to experience the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, new and multiple forms of geo-economic and geo-political power, and unprecedented aftershocks in the Euro zone and complex global transformations, Dani Rodrik’s intervention could not have been better timed. The book’s strength lies in the innovative ways […]
Conflict
The 9/21 Attack on Westgate Mall: Understanding the Youth Factor in Violent Radicalization in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa
by Alfred Ndumo Muteru
Al-Shabaab has begun to mobilize support by taking advantage of political and socio-economic vulnerabilities of the youth in Somalia's neighboring countries. After two and a half decades of counterproductive military interventions, peacebuilding processes may need to be reconsidered and instead focus on inclusive ideas that do not overlook the importance of the youth.
Essays
Mapping Reconciliation Processes in Africa: A Project Set to Fail or A Possible Gateway to Further Research?
by Cori Wielenga
Reconciliation has become an important term in the national discourse, particularly within Africa. Yet what reconciliation actually refers to, how it should be implemented, and how to assess its level of effectiveness remains a challenge for many States. This piece explores the creation of a database to map reconciliation processes across the African continent, questioning whether such a project would be destined to fail, or a gateway to further research.
