To what extent is the Horn African maritime security agenda locally owned?

Ainab, Mahad 2022. To what extent is the Horn African maritime security agenda locally owned? PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Maritime security in the Horn of Africa is a major concern affecting citizens, governments and agencies on local, national and international levels. This study critically interrogates the Horn of Africa maritime security agenda (MSA) which was established in 2008 by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in response to an escalation of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Within the MSA, the international imperative for freedom of navigation generally trumps regional and local priorities, which are more focused on economic development and the specific maritime threats affecting this region. A key reason for this is that the original agenda has been driven by the liberal peace project which allows no place for a strong regional voice. This inherent structural imbalance continues to hamper local ownership of the MSA. However, definitions of what maritime security entails, and the capacities that security at sea requires, remain contested as a result of the exercise of concerted and assertive agency by both regional and national actors, and this perspective has not been adequately explored in the previous literature. This study aims to advance our understanding of the MSA within and across contexts through a multiscale case study of the Horn of Africa, exploring both national and regional dimensions of the agenda. The study shows that the MSA, as it currently stands, has been undermined by both regional and national actors using their agencies. At the regional level, government elites have re-set the MSA, while, at the national level, obstacles have been placed in its path by local actors, both at the elite and community levels. Theorising the MSA provides a lens through which to view it as well as an invitation to see the MSA from a different perspective. What this reveals is that, in response to the specific circumstances, priorities, and needs of the Horn of Africa, regional and national actors have distorted, subverted, adapted, and, on occasion, deadlocked the MSA through collective securitisation and hybridisation processes. Hence, this research adds to the limited existing literature on the contestation over the nature of maritime security and the capacities it requires in the Horn of Africa.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Law
Subjects:	J Political Science > JX International law K Law > KZ Law of Nations
Uncontrolled Keywords:	International Relations Theory, International Governance, Conflict, Security, Hybrid Peace, Local Ownership, Capacity-building, Security Sector Reform, and Development
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 January 2023
Last Modified:	25 Jan 2023 09:21
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/155449

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