Master Thesis The security-development nexus and its local articulation in Kenya A field study in the rural village of Baragoi Author: Silvia Bornengo and Emma Olofsson Supervisor: Jonas Ewald Examiner: Christopher High Term: Spring Semester 2018 Subject: Peace and Development Work Level: Master Course code: 4FU42E Abstract The research is a field case study deployed in Samburu County, Kenya in the villages of Baragoi. The objective is to enrich the debate about peacebuilding and in particular about the security-development nexus, its articulations and actors at local level. The theorization of the security-development nexus is part of the debate regarding the way of implementing effectively peacebuilding policies (Nilsson and Taylor, 2016). The academic debate has mainly related and investigated the nexus at its international and national sphere. Moreover, when it comes to local level, only few field studies have brought up an in depth analysis of its local articulation and local actors1. Therefore, this study aims at providing new evidences in relation to three main topics; first to enrich the knowledge of how development and security are conceived at local level; then, the research intends to understand if there are actors other than the national government, able to deploy security and development programs; and finally, study how their relationship is perceived at grassroots level. By understanding firstly how development and security are conceived on the ground, observation and interviews are carried out in order to understand the perception of the security-development nexus and the actors identified as influencing security and development in Baragoi, Kenya. The findings show a definition closely related to human development and human security and especially an overlapping with security and peace. The humanized definition of security and development allows more actors to be involved and therefore several non-state actors have been identified as legitimate providers of development and security in Baragoi where state presence is minimum. Moreover, their perception of the nexus shows an interdependence where both security and development are stressing issues that influence each other, however it is also possible to identify a one-way relationship where security is perceived as vital is Baragoi and by ensuring security, development will come automatically. Key words: security-development nexus, Kenya, peacebuilding 1 see for example Nilsson and Taylor, 2016; Orjuela, 2010; Howe and Sims, 2011; Denney, 2011; Jensen, 2010 Acknowledgments We would like to thank Linnaeus University and all the teachers of Peace and Development Work Master Program for everything they taught us during this year; you have been fundamental not only for our academic education but you will also be an example for our future professional experiences. Thank you for showing us the importance of truly believing in ourselves and our dreams. A particular thank to our supervisor Jonas Ewald, who supported us at any time of the day during our field work and encouraged us to do our best. And also, thanks to Sida who made this field study possible by financing us through a minor field study (MFS) scholarship. We want to dedicate a special thanks to Peter Lengurnet who represented for us a leader and important friend in Maralal; an important thank to the Caritas Office in Maralal and Baragoi that enabled us to carry out this field work and gain a deep knowledge through their experiences: thank you for welcoming us, teaching us how to work for peace and development and for being our friends. Thank to Bishop Pante, Fr. Peter Musau, Fr. Nderitu, Fr. Giuliani, Fr. Roberto for being with us during this period. A special thanks to Joy, Koech, Fr. Kamau and Fr. Chris for being our family in Maralal and for our Samburu dancing in the evening. Thanks to all the interviewees that shared with us their stories, experiences and made this study possible. Thank to Samburu County and all the people that we met that shared with us a little but important part of our life. We also want to thank all our families, friends and classmates that encouraged, supported and listened to us during this period. Thank you for being with us from Sweden, Italy, France, Germany, USA… List of Abbreviations CIDP County Integrated Development Plan CJPC Catholic Justice and Peace Commission CPI Children Peace Initiative ITDG Intermediate Technology Development Group KPR Kenya Police Reservist (now called NPR) MCA Members of County Assembly NGO Non-Governmental Organization NGOW Non-Governmental Organization Worker NPR National Police Reservist (previously called KPR) SCCRR Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme VPC Village Peace Committee Table of contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background and Justification 1 1.2 Pastoral conflicts across East Africa and the case of Samburu County 1 1.2.3 Baragoi and Samburu County, Kenya. 2 1.3 Research Problem 4 1.4 Research Objectives and Research Questions 4 1.5 Relevance of the study 5 1.6 Structure of the thesis 6 2 Literature review 7 3 Analytical framework 10 3.1. RQ1: How are security and development defined by the people living in Baragoi and/or actively working in these sectors in Baragoi? 11 3.1.1 Human Security. 11 3.1.2 Human Development 12 3.2. RQ2: Which are the different actors identified as influencing security and development in Baragoi area, Samburu County? 13 3.3. RQ3: Which kind of relationship between security and development is identified on the ground by them? 13 4 Methodology 14 4.1 Primary sources 14 4.1.1 Semi-structured individual interviews 15 4.1.2 Semi-structured group interviews 15 4.1.3 Unstructured individual interviews 15 4.1.4 Observations 15 4.2 Secondary Sources 16 4.3 Sampling 16 4.4 Reliability and validity 17 4.5 Delimitations and limitations 18 4.6 Ethical considerations 19 5. Findings 20 5.1 How are security and development defined by the people living in Baragoi and/or actively working in these sectors in Baragoi? 20 5.1.1 Security 20 5.1.2 Development 24 5.2 Which are the different actors identified as influencing security and development in Baragoi area, Samburu County? 28 5.2.1 Security Actors 28 5.2.2 Development Actors 35 5.3 Which perception of the relationship between security and development is identified on the ground? 37 5.3.1 Relationship according to NGO workers 37 5.3.2 Relationship according to Samburu/Turkana community members 38 3.3.3 Relationship according to key informants: two religious leaders, two political leaders, one village administrator, one Police Officer, County Government 39 6 Analysis 41 6.1 RQ1: How are security and development defined by the people living in Baragoi and/or actively working in these sectors in Baragoi? 41 6.1.1 Security 41 6.1.2 Development 41 6.2 RQ2: Which are the different actors identified as influencing security and development in Baragoi area, Samburu County? 42 6.2.1 Security 43 6.2.2 Development 46 6.3 RQ3: Which kind of relationship between security and development is identified on the ground by them? 48 7 Conclusion 50 References 52 Appendix 1: List of interviews 59 Appendix 2: Interview Guides 60 1 Introduction 1.1 Background and Justification In the academic debate and in world's public opinion, a univocal definition of what peacebuilding entails and how to implement it effectively has never been reached (Galtung, 1990; Doyle and Sambanis, 2000:779-801; Lambourne, 2004:3; Dursun-Ozkanca, 2009:4-5; Abdullai and Brovina, 2015:136). The security-development nexus belongs to the debate regarding peacebuilding policies and has been enriched by a wide and hectic academic debate since its validity and meanings have been differently discussed (Stern and Öjendal, 2010). The claim of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan "We will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development" explains partly what the nexus entails. In fact, it implies the idea that these two elements are strictly interconnected and interdependent, and therefore must be jointly addressed in conflict resolution (United Nations General Assembly, 2005; Stern and Öjendal, 2010:6). Research further argues that underdevelopment can contribute to armed conflicts, but development opportunities could also be lost due to conflicts that cause low human development and lead to a “conflict trap” (Buur, Jensen and Stepputat, 2007:9; Collier, 2003). Although there is a broad academic debate about the nexus, it presents a lack of understanding of its local dimension (Nilsson and Taylor, 2016; Orjuela, 2010; Tschirgi, Lund and Mancini, 2010; Denney, 2011:294). It is also also argued that security and development have been conceptualised in the global north and practiced in the global south with little consultation and attention paid to local actors (Spear and Williams, 2012:16). Since most of today's conflicts are intra-state (within state) instead of inter-state (between states) (Chuma and Ojielo, 2012:25; Kaldor, 2006), there is a need to understand the nexus´ local articulation when it comes to local peacebuilding. Therefore, a field study has been carried out in Baragoi, a village in Samburu County, Kenya that since many years is affected by an intra-state, resource-based conflict between the two pastoral communities Samburu and Turkana. 1.2 Pastoral conflicts across East Africa and the case of Samburu County Pastoral communities are not only present in Kenya, in fact, they are present in more than 21 countries in Africa: these nomadic or semi-nomadic communities live in arid or semi-arid areas and their livelihood depends on livestock (Bevan, 2008:2; Obika and Bibangambah, 2013:141). They are present mainly in East Africa and conflicts between pastoral groups have been particularly violent in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and 1 Central African Republic (Bevan, 2008:2).