Reflections and Insights about Cartographic Disputes between Kenya and the Federal Republic of Somalia 1887 – Present.

Abstract

From the onset of colonialism, the “Somali Question” has been a big headache to Kenyan administrations. This is because of the issue of Somali ethnic nationalism question; a creation of the European arbitrary partition of Africa during the Berlin Conference of 1884-85. The drawing of boundaries did not take into consideration the political, social and economic realities that existed where the Somali ethnic community occupied the larger part of the Horn of Africa. The colonial powers shared the Horn among themselves scattering the Somali into four states. Since then, Somalis developed a desire to exist in one state popularly known as the “Greater Somalia” through agitations and creation of movements both armed and political. This festered into the post-colonial period where the “Somali Question” was responsible for incessant strained relations between Kenya and the Federal Republic of Somalia (FRS). This reality prompted Kenya to invent strategies of de-puzzling the menace. The study examined the historical dynamics in Kenya- Somali relations with special focus on diplomatic strategies used by both countries to address the issue of border disputes. It was found out that Kenya and FRS pursued similar diplomatic strategies (deterrence, spats and negotiations) in an attempt to resolve their cartographic disputes. A common strategy used by both countries is negotiation while Kenya leveraged on deterrence while Somalia preferred diplomatic spats