School of International Relations & Diplomacy

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the confidence and selfesteem of youth with disabilities
(Gifted Community Centre (GCC), 2021) Musau Susan; Jeremiah Murithi; Titus Masila
In June 2020, 6,366 confirmed cases of COVID-19 led to the first government response. This included limiting movement in places with reported cases, closure of public spaces with high human traffic, such as schools and public events, introduction of dusk-to-dawn curfews, and ensuring basic hygiene and social distancing. Many of the current protection measures, especially around transport and social distancing, make usual means of support and independence risky and challenging to access for youth with disabilities. Some persons with disabilities cannot practice social distancing due to their support needs. Access to information about COVID-19 is often not accessible for persons with disabilities. Though several reports have been published, little research has primarily focused on the impact of COVID-19 on youth with disabilities in Kenya. The studies instead have focused on persons with disabilities in general.
Regional Intergovernmental Organizations to Conflict Prevention and Resolution: The Case of the African Union in the Nile River Conflict
(Scientific Research Publishing Inc., 2023-01-31) Musau Susan
International intergovernmental organizations play various roles, including settling conflicts, promoting peaceful coexistence, cooperation among member states, human rights, and economic and social development. Regional intergovernmental organizations that act as a last resort are better suited to prevent and resolve conflicts at a region level due to their regional positioning, knowledge, and understanding of the root causes, ability to influence and facilitate conflict settlement, and their legitimacy standing. This paper aimed to explore the role of regional intergovernmental organizations in conflict prevention and resolution with the case of the African Union (AU) in the Nile River conflict. Specifically, the paper looked at factors for and against conflict prevention in the Nile, the AU’s role as a regional intergovernmental organization in preventing and resolving conflict in the Nile River conflict, and the role of non-state actors, IGOs, and UN’s Security Council in enhancing AU’s role in conflict prevention and resolution. The paper deployed a qualitative case study methodology with 20 structured interviews, open questionnaires, and secondary sources to examine the phenomenon. Consequently, the study used an analytical category development matrix to develop meaningful emerging themes from the data collected. The findings and analysis showed various factors hindering AU’s full operationalization in the Nile River conflict, including the African states’ ideology (imported democracy) with sub-factors such as colonial factors, external influence, African politics and leadership, and self-interests. Further, the Nile states have different interests that require a joint solution that caters to each party’s interests, with compromise in consideration. As a regional organization, the AU is well positioned to prevent and resolve the Nile River conflict (what the researcher termed as an Afri-Nile solution). Additionally, the international intergovernmental organizations and non-state actors can enhance the AU’s role through collaboration and cooperation (the researcher termed Cop-Lab). The study supported realism and liberalism theories that explained the Nile states’ rift and the potential for conflict resolution from a regional perspective. However, what works in Africa may be inapplicable in other regions and, therefore, essential to approach regional organizations per context.
From Treaty to MOUs: Analysis of the Eventuality of the 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Agreement
(Scientific Research Publishing Inc., 2021-05-08) Musau Susan
This paper analyses the 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Agreement, whether it is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or a treaty, highlighting factors leading to the conflict and the peace agreement. It also highlights the previous peace accords and why even after the Agreements, the tensions remain/ed high. Most Peace Agreements are either MOU or Treaty. MOUs are non-legally binding, while treaties are legally binding. Unfortunately, there is no consensus on what constitutes a treaty or memorandum of understanding. However, the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties guides on treaties formulation. This paper deployed in-depth desk review research, text analysis and interpretation, and official documents. In its theoretical and methodological approach, the paper adopted an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the eventuality of the 2018 Peace Agreement. In its analysis and findings, the paper found out that the 2018 Peace Agreement was an MOU. It also found out that the conflict is not only political and religious but also emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. The failure of arbitration and the Algiers Agreement, which were legally binding, prompted the parties to enter into the 2018 non-legally binding Peace Agreement. The previous dispute resolution mechanisms lacked a provision on enforcement mechanism and consequences of the breach, while the 2018 Peace Agreement specifies this provision. The prior Agreements also lacked political goodwill to implement the Commission’s Boundary Report. However, the 2018 Peace Agreement sets the enforcement mechanism. The paper, thus, concludes that MOUs, which are primarily for political and economic interests, unlike treaties which are for legal claims, have high chances of success for settling conflict and restoring peace. Due to the recent nature of the 2018 Peace Agreement, there is limited to no research on its progress, a potential area for future research.
The Horn of Conflict: Inside Ethiopia‘s Democracy
(International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 2021-07) Musau Susan
The Horn of conflict? The Horn of Africa comprises Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia, and by extension, Kenya and Uganda. The region is diverse in terms of geography, culture, religion, population, and politics. The region is known as a hotbed of conflicts due to its resource to cross-border to communal conflicts. The realist theoretical approach hold that states operate in a state of anarchy. They are after their self-interest and survival in the international system. This survival leads to a security dilemma. States will do what they can to secure their own security, which induces fear in others who, in turn, increase theirs. Ethiopia, the second-most populous country in Africa, is entrapped into different conflicts: interstate and cross-border conflict with Eritrea, conflict with Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and Nile water conflict with Egypt. Why is Ethiopia entrapped into these conflicts? What is the role of the leaders/political parties in these conflicts? What are the reasons behind these conflicts? How can Ethiopia settle these conflicts? In all these conflicts, survival is Ethiopia’s quest. This paper aims to respond to these questions using an interdisciplinary approach. Ethiopia is well placed to utilize the regional mechanisms to settle these conflicts. Otherwise, it will be a ground for complex conflicts that will spill over to other countries.
Scramble of the 21st Century Horn:The Spillover Effect of Unstable Horn of Africa. HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies,
(The Horn Bulletin, 2023-08) Musau Susan
The Horn of Africa is a multifaceted sub-region of Africa, characterized by external and internal rivalries, drought, territorial conflicts, and diverse civilizations. It serves as a trading hub and hosts peacekeeping missions and intergovernmental organizations such as the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The region attracts foreign powers, leading to persistent security dilemmas. Domination by individual states affects civilians, resulting in recurring interstate and intrastate conflicts. This article discusses the source of conflicts in the region, including the Nile River conflict, where colonialism and control over the Nile have been factors. The author explores conflict dynamics in Ethiopia, a country never colonized, faced conflicts with Eritrea and Somalia, including the fight against Al-Shabaab and Djibouti, a key ally of Ethiopia, which experienced conflicts with Eritrea over border disputes, impacted by sanctions and historical injustices. The author argues that in order to stabilize the Horn of Africa region, the countries should unite under regional organizations, foster trust through compromise and acceptance of history, and prioritize people-led democracy. In addition, the author notes that supporting IGAD in addressing drought and famine is crucial, and a historical perspective in conflict resolution can address underlying colonialism-related issues.
The Quest for a Multidimensional African Standby Force
(African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review, 2016) Onditi, Francis; Okoth, Godfrey Pontian; Matanga, Frank K.
One of the most novel ideas within the emerging African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) was the creation and adoption of the African Standby Force (ASF) policy framework in 2003–04. Since its adoption by the African Chiefs of Defense in May 2004, the focus has been on developing a multidimensional peace support operation platform. However, more than a decade after the adoption of the African common defense policy, the ASF’s plan to achieve multidimensional capacities by 2015 or beyond remains elusive. Th is delay has been attributed to several factors, including civil-military tensions. While the ASF structures have made significant efforts in training peacekeepers, the possibility for a multidimensional force in the foreseeable future has not only been delayed, but also significantly undermined. Th is article points to the need for greater focus on developing civilian and police personnel in order to equip the ASF with the right mix of capacities to respond to the unprecedented asymmetric conflicts in Africa.
Civil-Military Relations and the African Standby Forces' Multidimensionism
(Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies, 2016-08) Onditi, Francis; Okoth, Godfrey Pontian
The feasibility of a multidimensional African Standby Force (ASF) and the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC) is uncertain. This is despite the existence of a policy framework initiating the ASF and regional mechanisms (RMs). The policy was adopted and adapted to assume a multidimensional configuration, in May 2003 and in 2004 respectively. More than ten years after its establishment, there exist an unconcluded debate on whether the ASF and the regional mechanisms have achieved the multidimensional status-military, civilians and police components. It is in this sense that reference to civil-military relations (CMRs) has become almost a cliché of debates in the African Union’s (AU) peacekeeping space. Indeed, the sour relationship between the military and civilians has been described as a ‘hindrance’ to the attainment of full operation capability by ASF structures earmarked for 2015. Whilst, the realities of conflict in most parts of Africa is that militants have changed tact, rendering pure military operation ineffective, the most effective response is for peace support operation (PSO) actors to develop balanced structures to respond to these multifaceted peace and security threats facing the continent. In this article, the significance of both structural and institutional constraints are considered. The conclusion points to the need to adapt the ASF structures to the African PSO realities, but more critically, improve its configuration and design in the light of the lessons learnt since its establishment more than a decade ago.
Gender equality as a means to women empowerment? Consensus, challenges and prospects for post-2015 development agenda in Africa
(African Geographical Review, 2016-04-22) Onditi, Francis; Odera, Josephine
In this paper, we have examined gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) as reﬂected in the millennium development goals (MDGs) as well as the conceptualization and localization of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The paper adopts Amartya Sen’s women agency conceptual framework to advance the thesis of this article that while there is general consensus on achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, the MDGs adopted in 2001 fell far short of fulﬁlling this consensus and that the incoming SDGs must respond to fundamental issues of GEWE from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. This paper addresses the issues of conceptualization, context, and design of MDGs and how lessons learnt in its implementation inform SDGs. The question is, will GEWE maintain any pride of place? Analysis in the paper reveals that qualitative indicators such as human rights, equity, and capabilities were silent in the MDG design, constructs, and implementation. The paper suggests that the understanding and putting in place of mechanisms for continuous assessment of the human-centered indicators, such as quality of life, as part of the SDGs’ localization efforts portend increasing effectiveness of SDGs toward addressing gender-sensitive issues of social exclusion, inequality, and resource distribution, which have a great bearing on sustainable development.
Introduction to the Special Issue: Women, Leadership, and Peace in Africa
(African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review,, 2017) Cheeseman, Nic; Onditi, Francis; D'Alessandro, Cristina
Are women empowered enough to make peace in Africa? Despite over two decades of multiparty politics, the answer appears to be “no,” if we start by looking at the formal political realm. In general, women remain marginalized within African political systems. To date, there have only been three female presidents (i.e., not including “acting” presidents) on the continent since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s: Ellen Sirleaf Johnson in Liberia, Joyce Banda in Malawi, and Bibi Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim in Mauritius. Of these three, only two—Sirleaf Johnson and Gurib-Fakim—secured their position by winning an election (Joyce Banda assumed power after Bingu wa Mutharika died in office and lost the next general election). In many countries, the picture at the legislative level is similarly bleak. In 2015, there were many countries in Africa in which women made up less than 10% of members of parliament. For example, that year only 5.6% of the Nigerian legislature was female (Tripp forthcoming).
Politics of African Peace Support OperationArchitecture: What next post-2015 African StandbyForce?
(African Studies, 2017-09-15) Onditi, Francis; Okoth, Godfrey Pontian
Peace support operation (PSO) institutions were established to support the African peace and security architecture in developing integrated capacities (civilian, police and military) for deployment in crisis situations. This institutional development is part of the transition from the Organisation of African Unity to the African Union (AU) within the Constitutive Act of 2000. Drawing from both operational and strategic challenges facing African Standby Force structures, this article explores the implications of civil-military dissonance on the attainment of integrated capacities, post-2015 peace and security arrangement. The study posits that whereas the PSO institutions have made significant gains in increasing their regional visibility, tensions between the military and civilians systematically edges out the latter from the centre of decision-making. Moreover, while AU bureaucrats superficially assert that PSO institutions have made efforts towards developing integrated capacities, cogent and deeper analysis shows this is not the case; instead the heightened civil-military tension is a reflection of decision-making dilemmas facing both the military executives and political elites. The article concludes by proposing a review of African PSO norms, doctrines, and policies in order to develop an incremental strategy towards achieving full operational capacity that is inclusive of civilians and police.
The need for a good enough territorial and economic governance in south Sudan
(Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy, 2017) Onditi, Francis; D'Alessandro, Cristina
Peace and conflict dynamics in South Sudan are intertwined with political governance, institutional capacities, and leadership. Nevertheless, in the specific South Sudanese intractable civil wars since signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, territorial and economic governance are also certainly strictly connected to any possible prospect of sustainable peace for the country. As such, after carefully defining these concepts, this article emphasizes that territorial governance in South Sudan relates to boundaries definition and to the division of the national territory in states with a certain degree of autonomy. The issues and divergences engendered by territorial governance are intertwined with economic governance concerns. The uneven distribution of natural resources (especially oil) produces wealth and power redistribution concerns that are at the core of contentious relations between social and ethnic groups. These circles of tensions rapidly degenerate into conflict in a context of widespread poverty, inequality, and consequent social vulnerability. The article defines and illustrates a “good enough” territorial and economic governance framework for the South Sudanese case study.
African National Anthems: Their Value System and Normative 'Potential
(Kyoto University, 2018-03) Onditi, Francis
Arguably, a national anthem defines a country’s identity. Globally, it regarded as a symbol of national unity. In Africa, they assert a country’s independence from colonial imperialism. Despite their strong symbolism and nationalistic ingenuity, national anthems have remained latent in both academic and policy discourses. Moreover, they not only exhibit nationalistic elements, but also propagandistic, aggressive or even chauvinistic constructs. In view of this dichotomy, the debate continues to deepen as the dilemma unveils, how to reconcile the positive elements of the national anthems with the antagonistic lyrics they produce in order to promote values and norms for full realization of ‘African potentials?’ Drawing upon Ian Manners’s concept of ‘normative power,’ this article employs thematic network analysis tools to examine the pattern of lyrics within the African national anthems as potential sources of ‘norms’ for framing the philosophy of ‘African potentials.’ This article goes beyond the common argument that national anthems are historical effgies to discover the ‘potentials’ within the diversity of constructs emerging from their lyrics and thematic network analytics.
Multidimensionalism or Militarism? A Decade of Experimentation in African Peace Support Operations
(The African Solutions Journal (AfSol Journal), 2018-05) Onditi, Francis
The relationship between the military, police, and civilians within the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) has, at times, been characterised by considerable tensions and mistrust. This bears direct implications on the effectiveness of the African Union to promote peace and stability on the continent. This article explores the evolution of the African Standby Force (ASF) based on case studies of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) and ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) to understand why and how the 2015 bench mark for achieving ASF’s full operation capability did not happen. The article argues that, with regard to the uncertainty surrounding the evolution of the ASF, it is not enough to focus solely on the macro-level factors affecting the evolution of ASF. Instead, internal processes and structures such as the attitude of peacekeepers to each other is, without doubt, an inseparable part of the ‘sluggishness’ in the realization of a rapid deployment capability (RDC). It is, therefore, more appropriate to consider the role of internal processes and civil-military power relations in the evolution of the ASF.
Addressing gender gaps in agricultural productivity in Africa: comparative case studies from Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda+
(Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy, 2018) Torkelsson, Asa; Onditi, Francis
This article examines why, in most African countries, women farmers achieve lower productivity in agriculture than men. It contributes to this debate by interrogating whether or not addressing gender gaps in agricultural production significantly contributes to socio-economic well-being (resilience) of women as well as the gross domestic product (GDP). The Living Standards Measurement Studies-Integrated Survey for Agriculture projects was adopted to produce estimates for three countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda). The article draws from a research report and collaborative study by UN Women with UNEP and World Bank. The result shows that although female farmers individually manage slightly more than 25 per cent of all plots in Malawi and Uganda and about 20 per cent of all plots in Tanzania, Malawi shows the largest difference in mean productivity where women’s plots are, on average, 28 per cent less productive than men’s while Tanzania and Uganda reported 16 per cent and 13 per cent gender gaps, respectively. This result implies that the importance of other productive resources other than access to land may be key – for instance, the need to tackle constraints related to women’s access to “household male labour” and policies that help women farmers to access labour-saving technologies.
Power-sharing Consociationalism in resolving South Sudan’s ethnopolitical conflict in the post- Comprehensive Peace Agreement era
(African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 2023-08-17) Onditi, Francis; Sabala, Kizito; Wassara, Samson
This article uses Arend Lijphart’s notion of ‘power-sharing Consociationalism’ to understand the mutually reinforcing conflict system and the barriers to resolving such conflicts in South Sudan. ‘Consociationalism’ has been affirmed as an ideal approach for resolving conflicts in ethnically divided societies, but in South Sudan, the formal institutions of power sharing have not delivered sustainable peace. Analysis in this article reveals that the implementation of the various ‘peace agreements’ and ‘deals’ deviated from classical ‘Consociationalism’. Consequently limited attention was paid to inter-ethnic tensions and too much emphasis was placed on the mechanics of power sharing among the executive and military institutions, leading to the proliferation of ‘organised political movements’. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of power sharing, a viable consociational model for South Sudan should concentrate on how such multifaceted layers of issues can be accommodated within a single settlement. Therefore, the South Sudan conflict system requires a stronger reconceptualisation of issues. Hence we have coined the term ‘tragedy of ethnic diversity’, not as a replacement of the well-known concept of ‘resource curse’, but as new thinking that might shape future research and scholarship in the increasingly complex South Sudan conflict system.
Why most African states may be at war with each other in 2063
(University of Johannesburg, 2019-10) Onditi, Francis; Kithiia, Shadrack Mulei
The year 2063 is important to the AU and the African people. Aside from the fact that, by then, many African states will be celebrating 100 years’ independence, this is also the year that the goals listed in the Agenda 2063 should have been achieved. The Agenda 2063, which was created in 2015, groups its objectives into four broad categories: inclusive growth; integration; governance; security; cultural identity; women and youth; and partnership. However, the Agenda does not consider the influence of war and conflict. The failure to anticipate and put in place measures for mitigating the impacts of such events means that the goals of the Agenda 2063 are less likely to be achieved.
From Resource Curse to Institutional Incompatibility: A Comparative Study of Nigeria and Norway Oil Resource Governance.
(Brill, 2019-11-11) Onditi, Francis
This article seeks to address a policy quandary: despite Nigeria’s history of oil exploitation since 1956 and institutionalization of the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in 2004, why has the country not been able to address the resource wealth–poverty dilemma? Is it that the EITI’s governance model is too Western to address Nigeria’s resource curse? It has been established that a country’s propensity to integrate EITI principles in the oil industry is largely dependent not only on the existence of institutions, but also on the level of institutional development. Norway and Nigeria both created policy and regulatory systems. Norway’s more competent administrative structures grew into a self-regulatory system but, by contrast, Nigeria’s indigenous civil service never developed institutional arrangements sufficient to integrate the oil industry into the entire national or regional institutional framework. Considering these historical and contextual differences between Nigeria and Norway, this article employs ‘stakeholder analysis’ to construct a framework of ‘thinking’ regarding how the oil sector could be effectively governed in Nigeria (Figure 7), a country with a robust civil society but a complex political system: in such countries, evolution of what I call a ‘self-reinforcing system of institutional incompatibility’ is inevitable, but institutionalization of foreign models such as EITI is often difficult to achieve.
New Possibilities for a PeacefulDigital Society in ViolencePrevalent Geographies
(Journal of Peacebuilding& Development, 2020-09-24) Onditi, Francis
In recent years, scholars and practitioners alike have discussed technology and its relationship with peace building and development. This debate has proffered clarity on how the lack of technology can aggravate underdevelopment and violent conflict. However, although this relationship has informed the evolving discourse over what constitutes a digital society, in practice, application of technology without considering human security dimensions can be counterproductive. To address this dilemma, the article draws upon lessons from the implementation of peace building and development initiatives from Kenya’s conflict hotspot zones to propose a typology for bridging the divide between the desirable and disruptive attributes of technology. As a result, a cyclical relationship is designed to create an alternative analytical framework for reimagining the ecosystem of a peaceful digital society, herein coined technology for peaceful society (T4PS). Finally, some broader implications of the new model for scholars and practitioners involved in peace building and development activities are suggested.
New Book: Ideas and Actionable Steps for Scaling Africa’s Blue Economy Strategy
(The Thinker a Pan-African Quarterly for Thought Leaders, 2021-06-10) Onditi, Francis; Yates, Douglas; Bohler-Muller, Narnia
Illusions of Location Theory: Consequences for Blue Economy in Africa, a new book edited by Dr. Francis Onditi and Prof. Douglas Yates, with a foreword by Prof. Narnia Bohler-Muller, is finally published and can now be ordered from global leading platforms, including Amazon.
COVID-19 experience among slum dwellers in Nairobi: A double tragedy or useful lesson for public health reforms?
(International Social Work, 2020-11) Nyadera, Israel Nyaburi; Onditi, Francis
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the socio-economic and health dimensions of many societies across the world. For those in urban informal settlements, direct and indirect negative impacts of the pandemic and the resulting government policies have had devastating consequences on their livelihood. As the virus continues to spread rapidly, the more popular measures such as curfews, lockdown, and working from home have overlooked the fate of slum dwellers, who are left to choose between life and livelihood. This article examines the unique challenges people in informal settlements are facing during the pandemic. It focuses on the city of Nairobi, which has several informal settlements where more than 4 million people reside. The authors note that a combination of systematic marginalization, poor policies, and inadequate planning has left millions of people in Nairobi vulnerable to the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article concludes that as the virus continues to spread rapidly and the emerging socio-economic challenges undermine government’s capacity to respond to the crisis, support from other stakeholders such as social workers may have a positive impact.

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