| Conflicts in Africa are destabilizing the continent, thus hampering any efforts to achieve sustainable development. Post-Cold War conflicts are mainly internal and result in mass migrations of refugees into neighboring states that are underdeveloped and politically unstable. In the early 1990s, conflict intensified in Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia and camps were set up in northern Kenya for hundreds of thousands of refugees who had fled their home countries. This had an impact on the overall dynamics of Kenya's domestic and foreign policies.; This study suggests that militaristic legacies, socio-economic stress, power struggles and identity fault lines are the main sources of persistent and endemic conflict in northern Kenya. The ambiguous nature of Kenya's external relations with Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia has an adverse effect on the effectiveness of diplomacy in conflict resolution. This study relied on primary data gathered through the descriptive survey method as well as secondary data from published and unpublished literature.; It further suggests that the link between Kenya's domestic and foreign policies is reflected in the marginalized, unstable and underdeveloped northern region that borders Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan. In the post-Cold War era, Kenya has already been a victim of terrorist attacks and it is therefore important to have peace and stability in its northern frontier, as neighboring states are potential sources of terrorists. |
