The Horn of Africa and Geopolitics: Terrorism as a Transnational Security Concern
Date of Award
May 2018
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
African American Studies
Advisor(s)
Osamah F. Khalil
Keywords
Geopolitics, Imaginative Geographies, Pan Africanism, Terrorism, The Horn of Africa, Transnational Security
Subject Categories
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
This study explores the Horn of Africa as an ideational construct whose indeterminate and shifting boundaries have reflected the interests of the colonial powers. The central objective of this thesis is to deconstruct the notion of the “Horn of Africa.” It examines the colonial, Cold War, and post–9/11 periods to demonstrate that Euro–American foreign policies were reproduced in the creation of the region, its alternating boundaries, and how it has been characterized by policymakers and scholars. Drawing on a range of primary sources as well as interviews it focuses on Ethiopia and Somalia to demonstrate that U.S. foreign policy has played a dominant role in constructing and reifying the Horn while continuing to destabilize the region. Through the lens of Pan Africanism, this study also examines regional instability by reviewing decolonization in Somalia, which it contends are fundamentally flawed. Finally, it argues that conflict resolution approaches and mechanisms in post–colonial Africa are hindered by the increased diversion from understanding of conflicts in terms of political violence to terrorism and the promotion of counterterrorism strategies at the expense of diplomatic solutions.
Access
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Recommended Citation
Kassa, Bethelehem Engida, "The Horn of Africa and Geopolitics: Terrorism as a Transnational Security
Concern" (2018). Theses - ALL. 212.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/212