Oscar Gakuo Mwangi
Biographic Data
| ID | 366374 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Oscar Gakuo Mwangi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Oscar Gakuo |
| FAMILY NAME | Mwangi |
| SIGNATURE | MWANGI O G |
| AFFILIATIONS | National University of Lesotho |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3559-5900 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 45 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Stabilizing State Fragility in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia
Securitisation and spaces of terrorism in Kenya’s National Police Service counterterrorism discourse
The northeastern and coastal counties of Kenya are characterised by a high prevalence of terrorism and counterterrorism conducted by the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab terror group and the country’s National Police Service, respectively. The National Police Service (NPS) is Kenya’s principal counterterrorism state agency. This article examines how the National Police Service online counterterrorism discourse constructs these two regions as spaces of te…
Judicial activism, populism and counterterrorism legislation in Kenya: Coalition for Reform and democracy (Cord) & 2 others v Republic of Kenya & 10; others [2015]
This article examines the relationship between populism and judicial activism in Kenya’s Security Laws (Amendment) Act, No 19 of 2014 High Court Case determined in 2015. The article defines populism as a political strategy rather than as a thin-ideology, and adopts majoritaianism and deference to elected branches, and judicial aggrandisement as indicators of judicial activism. The Act, which aims at, among others, augmenting counterterrorism, ame…
Hydropolitics versus Human Security: Implications of South Africa's Appropriation of Lesotho's Highlands Water
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which exports water to South Africa, has enhanced the unequal structural relationship that exists between both states. Lesotho, one of the few countries in the world that exports water, has transformed from one of the largest sources of labor for South Africa to a water reservoir for South Africa. Though the project provides mutual strategic economic and political benefits to both riparian states, its construc…
The “Somalinisation” of terrorism and counterterrorism in Kenya: The case of refoulement
Kenya’s state discourse on terrorism and counterterrorism securitises Somali refugees and refugee camps. Using the securitisation theory, a perspective of social constructivism as a theoretical framework, the article attempts to establish the relationship between the securitisation of Somali refugees and refugee camps and refoulement as a measure to counter the securitisation. The arguments raised are the speech acts of Kenya’s securitising actor…
Securitisation, non-refoulement and the rule of law in Kenya: The case of Somali refugees
This article adopts the securitisation theory to examine the relationship among securitisation, non-refoulement, a peremptory norm, and the rule of law in Kenya. The arguments raised are that Somali refugees and refugee camps predominantly occupied by Somalis are falsely, in blanket fashion, socially constructed as abetting terrorism hence existential threats to national security so that the state can prioritise the implementation of refoulement,…
Statelessness, ungoverned spaces and security in Kenya
This chapter examines the relationship among ungoverned spaces, statelessness and security in Kenya. Statelessness is perceived as a political outcome of the relationship among politics, security and space. It explores the way in which statelessness is examined not from a legal perspective but a spatial-political dimension. The chapter also examines the legal and administrative state of statelessness in Kenya and provides essential information in…
The Dilemma of Kenya's New Counterterrorism and Asymmetric Warfare
Kenya has, in the context of the “new wars” thesis, adopted a new form of warfare since the country's military intervention in Somalia on October 16, 2011. The counterterrorism and asymmetric warfa
Neo-elitism and counterterrorism operations in Kenya
Counterterrorism operations in Kenya have often been hindered by a lack of collaboration, coordination and cooperation among the security agencies involved in such operations. This article examines the relationship between neo-elitism and counterterrorism security interagency activity in Kenya. Using neo-elitism as a framework for analysis, with specific reference to the September 2013 Westgate Mall attack counterterrorism operation, it is argued…
Jubaland: Somalia’s new security dilemma and state-building efforts
The creation of a buffer state aimed at providing a political and security zone is normally the initiative of powerful states within the region it is being established. Globalization has, however, placed buffer states at the centre of the new security dilemma creating national and transnational security risks that adversely impact on the capacity of neighbouring states to effectively perform their basic functions. The establishment of Somalia’s n…
Conflict and Security in Africa
Don't be vague bash the Hague: Votes and legitimacy in Kenya's 2013 elections
This article adopts social constructivism to examine the relationship between the depiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) intervention in Kenya and the Jubilee Coalition's electoral victory in Kenya's 2013 elections. The Jubilee Coalition, as a purposive organisation, used ‘social facts’ particularly ‘political persecution’ ‘sovereignty’ and ‘peace-making’ to delegitimise the intervention in order to win the elections. These ‘social f…
State collapse, peace enforcement and the responsibility to protect in Somalia
Somalia is a collapsed state, hence the responsibility to protect has shifted to the peace enforcement African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). This article examines the relationship between state collapse, peace enforcement and the responsibility to protect in Somalia. It focuses on the military component of AMISOM and argues that under conditions of state collapse, coupled with the missions' structural and operational limitations, AMISOM lack…
State Collapse, Al-Shabaab , Islamism, and Legitimacy in Somalia
Al-Shabaab, an Islamist non-state armed actor, is gaining legitimacy by adopting a variety of strategies under conditions of state collapse in Somalia. This article examines some of the strategies it is implementing to solicit community support and hence gain legitimacy. Using the political process approach as an analytical framework, the article argues that state collapse in Somalia has created political opportunities for Al-Shabaab to adopt the…
Religious Fundamentalism, Constitution-making and Democracy in Kenya: The Kadhis Courts Debate
This article examines religious fundamentalism, constitution-making and democracy in Kenya with regard to the arguments surrounding the inclusion of the Kadhis Courts in the country's new Constitution promulgated on 27 August 2010. Kadhis Courts deal with matters of Muslim law and have been entrenched in Kenya's Constitution since the country's independence in 1963. The article argues that the Church and clergy took a fundamentalist position rega…
The Union of Islamic Courts and security governance in Somalia
Armed non-state actors are increasingly challenging state provision of security in collapsed states. In such states armed non-state actors play both negative and positive roles in security governance. This article examines the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), an armed non-state actor in Somalia, which managed during its brief rule to restore peace and local-level security in parts of the country despite being identifi ed as a threat to internationa…
Environmental change and human security in Lesotho: The role of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in environmental degradation
This paper examines the impact of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project on environmental change and on environmental and human security in Lesotho. The central argument is that the construction of the project has contributed to environmental degradation, and particularly the depletion of renewable resources in terms of both quantity and quality. The environmental scarcity brought about by the project's construction is, first, human-induced and seco…
Political corruption, party financing and democracy in Kenya
This article examines political corruption and political party financing in multiparty Kenya. It uses the Goldenberg and Anglo-Leasing mega-scandals to demonstrate the existence of political corruption, particularly campaign financing, arguing that it has increased under multiparty rule and affected the nature of governance. It has adversely affected political participation and competition, the rule of law, transparency and accountability. Illega…
Hydropolitics, Ecocide and Human Security in Lesotho: A Case Study of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a bi-national collaboration between Lesotho and South Africa. One of the most comprehensive water projects in the world it aims to harness the water resources of Lesotho to the mutual benefit of both states. Once completed, about 2,200 million cubic metres per annum of water will be transferred from Lesotho to the South African network. In return, Lesotho will benefit in terms of ancillary developments and, …
Kenya: Conflict in the ‘Badlands’: The Turbi massacre in Marsabit district
Before dawn on 12 July 2005, about 1,000 heavily armed bandits made a series of raids in the Didigalgalo-Turbi area some 130 kilometres from Marsabit Town. At least 53 people, including 21 primary school children, were killed. The bandits left a trail of destruction at the trading centre and Turbi boarding primary school and burned to the ground the nearby group of dwellings. Area residents narrated how the armed raiders surrounded them and went …
The “Somalinisation” of terrorism and counterterrorism in Kenya: The case of refoulement
Kenya’s state discourse on terrorism and counterterrorism securitises Somali refugees and refugee camps. Using the securitisation theory, a perspective of social constructivism as a theoretical framework, the article attempts to establish the relationship between the securitisation of Somali refugees and refugee camps and refoulement as a measure to counter the securitisation. The arguments raised are the speech acts of Kenya’s securitising actor…
State Collapse, Al-Shabaab , Islamism, and Legitimacy in Somalia
Al-Shabaab, an Islamist non-state armed actor, is gaining legitimacy by adopting a variety of strategies under conditions of state collapse in Somalia. This article examines some of the strategies it is implementing to solicit community support and hence gain legitimacy. Using the political process approach as an analytical framework, the article argues that state collapse in Somalia has created political opportunities for Al-Shabaab to adopt the…
Kenya: Conflict in the ‘Badlands’: The Turbi massacre in Marsabit district
Before dawn on 12 July 2005, about 1,000 heavily armed bandits made a series of raids in the Didigalgalo-Turbi area some 130 kilometres from Marsabit Town. At least 53 people, including 21 primary school children, were killed. The bandits left a trail of destruction at the trading centre and Turbi boarding primary school and burned to the ground the nearby group of dwellings. Area residents narrated how the armed raiders surrounded them and went …
Political corruption, party financing and democracy in Kenya
This article examines political corruption and political party financing in multiparty Kenya. It uses the Goldenberg and Anglo-Leasing mega-scandals to demonstrate the existence of political corruption, particularly campaign financing, arguing that it has increased under multiparty rule and affected the nature of governance. It has adversely affected political participation and competition, the rule of law, transparency and accountability. Illega…
The Union of Islamic Courts and security governance in Somalia
Armed non-state actors are increasingly challenging state provision of security in collapsed states. In such states armed non-state actors play both negative and positive roles in security governance. This article examines the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), an armed non-state actor in Somalia, which managed during its brief rule to restore peace and local-level security in parts of the country despite being identifi ed as a threat to internationa…
Hydropolitics, Ecocide and Human Security in Lesotho: A Case Study of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a bi-national collaboration between Lesotho and South Africa. One of the most comprehensive water projects in the world it aims to harness the water resources of Lesotho to the mutual benefit of both states. Once completed, about 2,200 million cubic metres per annum of water will be transferred from Lesotho to the South African network. In return, Lesotho will benefit in terms of ancillary developments and, …
Securitisation, non-refoulement and the rule of law in Kenya: The case of Somali refugees
This article adopts the securitisation theory to examine the relationship among securitisation, non-refoulement, a peremptory norm, and the rule of law in Kenya. The arguments raised are that Somali refugees and refugee camps predominantly occupied by Somalis are falsely, in blanket fashion, socially constructed as abetting terrorism hence existential threats to national security so that the state can prioritise the implementation of refoulement,…
The Dilemma of Kenya's New Counterterrorism and Asymmetric Warfare
Kenya has, in the context of the “new wars” thesis, adopted a new form of warfare since the country's military intervention in Somalia on October 16, 2011. The counterterrorism and asymmetric warfa
State collapse, peace enforcement and the responsibility to protect in Somalia
Somalia is a collapsed state, hence the responsibility to protect has shifted to the peace enforcement African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). This article examines the relationship between state collapse, peace enforcement and the responsibility to protect in Somalia. It focuses on the military component of AMISOM and argues that under conditions of state collapse, coupled with the missions' structural and operational limitations, AMISOM lack…
Environmental change and human security in Lesotho: The role of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in environmental degradation
This paper examines the impact of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project on environmental change and on environmental and human security in Lesotho. The central argument is that the construction of the project has contributed to environmental degradation, and particularly the depletion of renewable resources in terms of both quantity and quality. The environmental scarcity brought about by the project's construction is, first, human-induced and seco…
Kenya: Conflict in the ‘Badlands’: The Turbi massacre in Marsabit district
Before dawn on 12 July 2005, about 1,000 heavily armed bandits made a series of raids in the Didigalgalo-Turbi area some 130 kilometres from Marsabit Town. At least 53 people, including 21 primary school children, were killed. The bandits left a trail of destruction at the trading centre and Turbi boarding primary school and burned to the ground the nearby group of dwellings. Area residents narrated how the armed raiders surrounded them and went …
Hydropolitics, Ecocide and Human Security in Lesotho: A Case Study of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a bi-national collaboration between Lesotho and South Africa. One of the most comprehensive water projects in the world it aims to harness the water resources of Lesotho to the mutual benefit of both states. Once completed, about 2,200 million cubic metres per annum of water will be transferred from Lesotho to the South African network. In return, Lesotho will benefit in terms of ancillary developments and, …
Environmental change and human security in Lesotho: The role of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in environmental degradation
This paper examines the impact of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project on environmental change and on environmental and human security in Lesotho. The central argument is that the construction of the project has contributed to environmental degradation, and particularly the depletion of renewable resources in terms of both quantity and quality. The environmental scarcity brought about by the project's construction is, first, human-induced and seco…
Political corruption, party financing and democracy in Kenya
This article examines political corruption and political party financing in multiparty Kenya. It uses the Goldenberg and Anglo-Leasing mega-scandals to demonstrate the existence of political corruption, particularly campaign financing, arguing that it has increased under multiparty rule and affected the nature of governance. It has adversely affected political participation and competition, the rule of law, transparency and accountability. Illega…
The Union of Islamic Courts and security governance in Somalia
Armed non-state actors are increasingly challenging state provision of security in collapsed states. In such states armed non-state actors play both negative and positive roles in security governance. This article examines the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), an armed non-state actor in Somalia, which managed during its brief rule to restore peace and local-level security in parts of the country despite being identifi ed as a threat to internationa…
State Collapse, Al-Shabaab , Islamism, and Legitimacy in Somalia
Al-Shabaab, an Islamist non-state armed actor, is gaining legitimacy by adopting a variety of strategies under conditions of state collapse in Somalia. This article examines some of the strategies it is implementing to solicit community support and hence gain legitimacy. Using the political process approach as an analytical framework, the article argues that state collapse in Somalia has created political opportunities for Al-Shabaab to adopt the…
Religious Fundamentalism, Constitution-making and Democracy in Kenya: The Kadhis Courts Debate
This article examines religious fundamentalism, constitution-making and democracy in Kenya with regard to the arguments surrounding the inclusion of the Kadhis Courts in the country's new Constitution promulgated on 27 August 2010. Kadhis Courts deal with matters of Muslim law and have been entrenched in Kenya's Constitution since the country's independence in 1963. The article argues that the Church and clergy took a fundamentalist position rega…
Don't be vague bash the Hague: Votes and legitimacy in Kenya's 2013 elections
This article adopts social constructivism to examine the relationship between the depiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) intervention in Kenya and the Jubilee Coalition's electoral victory in Kenya's 2013 elections. The Jubilee Coalition, as a purposive organisation, used ‘social facts’ particularly ‘political persecution’ ‘sovereignty’ and ‘peace-making’ to delegitimise the intervention in order to win the elections. These ‘social f…
State collapse, peace enforcement and the responsibility to protect in Somalia
Somalia is a collapsed state, hence the responsibility to protect has shifted to the peace enforcement African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). This article examines the relationship between state collapse, peace enforcement and the responsibility to protect in Somalia. It focuses on the military component of AMISOM and argues that under conditions of state collapse, coupled with the missions' structural and operational limitations, AMISOM lack…
Jubaland: Somalia’s new security dilemma and state-building efforts
The creation of a buffer state aimed at providing a political and security zone is normally the initiative of powerful states within the region it is being established. Globalization has, however, placed buffer states at the centre of the new security dilemma creating national and transnational security risks that adversely impact on the capacity of neighbouring states to effectively perform their basic functions. The establishment of Somalia’s n…
Conflict and Security in Africa
Statelessness, ungoverned spaces and security in Kenya
This chapter examines the relationship among ungoverned spaces, statelessness and security in Kenya. Statelessness is perceived as a political outcome of the relationship among politics, security and space. It explores the way in which statelessness is examined not from a legal perspective but a spatial-political dimension. The chapter also examines the legal and administrative state of statelessness in Kenya and provides essential information in…
The Dilemma of Kenya's New Counterterrorism and Asymmetric Warfare
Kenya has, in the context of the “new wars” thesis, adopted a new form of warfare since the country's military intervention in Somalia on October 16, 2011. The counterterrorism and asymmetric warfa
Neo-elitism and counterterrorism operations in Kenya
Counterterrorism operations in Kenya have often been hindered by a lack of collaboration, coordination and cooperation among the security agencies involved in such operations. This article examines the relationship between neo-elitism and counterterrorism security interagency activity in Kenya. Using neo-elitism as a framework for analysis, with specific reference to the September 2013 Westgate Mall attack counterterrorism operation, it is argued…
The “Somalinisation” of terrorism and counterterrorism in Kenya: The case of refoulement
Kenya’s state discourse on terrorism and counterterrorism securitises Somali refugees and refugee camps. Using the securitisation theory, a perspective of social constructivism as a theoretical framework, the article attempts to establish the relationship between the securitisation of Somali refugees and refugee camps and refoulement as a measure to counter the securitisation. The arguments raised are the speech acts of Kenya’s securitising actor…
Securitisation, non-refoulement and the rule of law in Kenya: The case of Somali refugees
This article adopts the securitisation theory to examine the relationship among securitisation, non-refoulement, a peremptory norm, and the rule of law in Kenya. The arguments raised are that Somali refugees and refugee camps predominantly occupied by Somalis are falsely, in blanket fashion, socially constructed as abetting terrorism hence existential threats to national security so that the state can prioritise the implementation of refoulement,…
Judicial activism, populism and counterterrorism legislation in Kenya: Coalition for Reform and democracy (Cord) & 2 others v Republic of Kenya & 10; others [2015]
This article examines the relationship between populism and judicial activism in Kenya’s Security Laws (Amendment) Act, No 19 of 2014 High Court Case determined in 2015. The article defines populism as a political strategy rather than as a thin-ideology, and adopts majoritaianism and deference to elected branches, and judicial aggrandisement as indicators of judicial activism. The Act, which aims at, among others, augmenting counterterrorism, ame…
Hydropolitics versus Human Security: Implications of South Africa's Appropriation of Lesotho's Highlands Water
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which exports water to South Africa, has enhanced the unequal structural relationship that exists between both states. Lesotho, one of the few countries in the world that exports water, has transformed from one of the largest sources of labor for South Africa to a water reservoir for South Africa. Though the project provides mutual strategic economic and political benefits to both riparian states, its construc…
Securitisation and spaces of terrorism in Kenya’s National Police Service counterterrorism discourse
The northeastern and coastal counties of Kenya are characterised by a high prevalence of terrorism and counterterrorism conducted by the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab terror group and the country’s National Police Service, respectively. The National Police Service (NPS) is Kenya’s principal counterterrorism state agency. This article examines how the National Police Service online counterterrorism discourse constructs these two regions as spaces of te…
Stabilizing State Fragility in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia
Political science (18 works) · Law (15 works) · Politics (15 works) · Law (12 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Political economy (9 works) · Public Administration (9 works) · Economics (7 works) · Geography (7 works) · Global Peace and Security Dynamics (6 works)