No 12, Issue 2       

EFFECTIVENESS OF MILITARY PEACE SUPPORT INTERVENTIONS IN STABILIZATION OF SOMALIA (1992-2022)

Cosmas Ekwom Kamais | Pontian Godfrey Okoth | Sussy Namaemba Kimokoti

Pages: 48-82

Abstract.

Military interventions are often conducted in the context of peace restoration, stabilization and humanitarian assistance. These are set out in the mandate objectives which guide the planning and conduct of peace support operations. However, there have been mixed outcomes and have often been characterized as ineffective. This paper examined the military interventions in Somalia since 1992 as well as the transition in conflicts in Somalia. The objective was to determine the effectiveness of the military interventions in stabilizing Somalia and restoring long-lasting peace. Quantitative data and qualitative data were collected and analysed to answer the objective. The findings indicated that despite marginal successes, previous military interventions were not effective in the stabilization of Somalia due to a lack of under-standing of the operating environment. The plans and strategies were singled out as being responsible for the failures rather than successes. Furthermore, AMISOM largely attained the mandate objectives, more so the degradation of Al Shabaab, thereby significantly contributing to stabilization efforts in Somalia. The paper concluded that the lack of proper understanding of the operating environment leads to the misalignment of strategies in the employment of resources, thus leading to dismal outcomes. Therefore, the paper recommended that stakeholders should continue to engage in shaping the Somalia transition plan in order to ensure that all pitfalls are mitigated so as to guarantee proper stabilization.

Keywords:

Military interventions, Peace Support Operations, Stabilization, Mandate, Strategy, Transition

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.