The Impact Of Ethnic Conflict On International Trade: A Case Of Kenya-south Sudan, 2011-2017.

Abstract

Trade has been a source of wealth and power, and countries always seek to increase their exchanges with the outside world. Globally, many factors however affect trade relations between and among countries. One of the major factors that affect trade internationally is ethnic conflicts. South Sudan’s instability has prevented Kenyans from pursuit of their economic interest through Kenya’s renewed economic diplomacy and this has consequently caused economic insecurity for the Kenyans trading in goods and services. The objective of the study was to examine the impact of ethnic conflict on international trade using Kenya - South Sudan as the case study. The study was based on conflict and development theory. The design used in this study was qualitative. This research depended on both primary and secondary data. Secondary information was collected from journals, books, newspapers and online sources. Primary data was collected by use of semi-structured interview. The questions presented in the interview were mostly open-ended with the purpose of respondents to reply in which matter they chose. This research made estimation on the population from where representative samples was drawn. The study targeted 54 Kenyan exporters to South Sudan located in Nairobi County. Purposive sampling was used to obtain 40% of the total respondent. The manufacturers were issued with interview tool to respond to. In total, the research was conduct survey from a pool of 22 respondents. The gathered data was analysed using content analysis. This study reveals that ethnic conflict in South Sudan is the stumbling block to Kenya’s economic growth.