Socio-economic Effects of Terrorim in East Africa: a Comparative Study of Kenya and Uganda

Abstract

Terrorism is a contemporary security problem that has caused varied effect globally. In East Africa, little focus has been made on the socioeconomic impact of terrorism. This study sought to analyze Socio-economic effects of terrorism in east Africa with a comparative study of Kenya and Uganda. The specific objectives were to explore the effect of terrorism on the security sector, education system and on the business sector in Kenya and Uganda. The research theoretical perspective is anchored on the Structural Realism theory of Kenneth Waltz, 1979, which explains the socio-economic impacts of terrorism as the aftermath of the motives of a group of people who seeks to achieve anarchy in the society. Both primary and secondary data was used for this study. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using quantitative analysis to understand the extent to which terrorism has affected security, education and economic sectors thus drawing a comparative understanding between Kenya and Uganda. Data analysis was done with help of SPSS software program version 21. The research findings indicated that Kenya has a higher socioeconomic impact of terrorism than Uganda. The finding pointed out that security, business and education sectors have been negatively affected in Kenya than in Uganda. The study findings and recommendations is aimed at policy formulation and develop strategies of addressing the threats posed by terrorism.