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Sub-national Diplomacy: A Wake-up Call to County Governments in Kenya

Traditionally, diplomacy has been a preserve of the state in which representatives of a given country manage international relations abroad. However, the growing influence of non-state actors in the international political space continues to galvanize a rethink among scholars of what constitutes diplomacy. When President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, the Governors of California, New York, and Washington issued a joint statement affirming that they were still in the fight against climate change. Governor Jerry Brown of California went ahead to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss matters climate change (Sloss, 2017). Sub-national actors are under the authority of the national government and despite their good intentions, they are limited by constitutional provisions that prevent them from entering into treaties with foreign powers in addition to other challenges like finances and expertise required f
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Beyond the Slogan: Ruto and the Art of Trumpism

In 2012, Republicans lost their second election to former President Barack Obama the same year that two United States government facilities in Benghazi, Libya came under attack by an Islamic militant group resulting into the death of among others the American Ambassador. Hillary Clinton was the Secretary of State and a likely heir to Obama’s throne, Republicans went for her head. As conspiracy theorists on the far right branded Hillary a witch who belonged to a satanic cult and a child-sex ring, the Republican dominated Congress went on with endless investigations into her over the Benghazi attack and eventually her handling of confidential information. Amidst all this, the lapse of judgement by Obama’s Attorney General Loretta Lynch in meeting President Bill Clinton coupled by former FBI Director James Comey’s famous letter to Congress badly damaged Hillary’s presidential ambitions. On the Republican side, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was a leading contender for the nomination u
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Let the Bishop Speak: Evangelicals and Politics

Evangelicalism can be defined as protestant Christianity that puts an emphasis on personal salvation through Jesus Christ with the Bible as the final authority on all matters of faith and practice (Smidt, 1988).   Over the years, Protestantism has been credited with capitalist economic growth and open democratic societies as witnessed in the early stages of British and United States industrialization while on the other hand, Catholicism has been looked at through the prism of semi feudal economics and authoritarianism (Smilde,2003). However, in Latin America, evangelical leaders were accused of failure to speak out against authoritarian regimes in places like Nicaragua based on the belief that reforms are a product of personal salvation of individuals in authority and not an outcome of social revolution (Smith and Haas, 1997). To them, as men and women seek guidance of the Bible, soldiers will respect human rights, politicians will tell the truth and entrepreneurs will make money hon
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Kenya’s ‘Primitive Democracy’ and my Reflections on Fukuyama’s ‘The End of History’

  In 2019, Kenyan rapper King Kaka caused an internet storm with his hit “ Wajinga nyinyi” in which he castigated the corrupt as well as the stupidity of voters who according to him and rightly so, elect the same culprits. One of the key people mentioned was the current Kirinyanga Governor Anne Waiguru who despite her stay in government having been clouded by serious corruption allegations turned out victorious in the gubernatorial election. She threatened to sue the rapper for defamation but that never materialized although some like Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi had already offered to represent King Kaka pro bono. Today, Waiguru is on the right side of Abdullahi’s politics so just like many others, nobody seems to care about her past. Dr. David Ndii recently claimed that Dr. William Ruto was not running on an anti-corruption platform and those who think otherwise should look elsewhere. The elephant in the room would be how Ruto will deliver his economic agenda in a corrupt sy
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Betrayal of the Vulnerable: Politics and Issues in Refugee Diplomacy

Refugee politics involves the national and international decision-making process regarding the admission, treatment, and administration of refugees as well as the negotiations determining their fate (Benard, 1986). When Ethiopia went into the current crisis stemming from its rebellious Tigray region, Kenya rushed to close its border with Ethiopia stating that there was need to check against illegal influx of immigrants. Kenya has also on several occasions threatened to close Dadaab and Kakuma settlements housing over 400,000 refugees amidst its row with Somalia. Kenyan security officials argue that the two refugee camps have become recruiting grounds for the terrorist group al-Shabab and bases for planning violent attacks inside Kenya. It is important to note that the September 11 th , 2001, attacks by the militant Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States accelerated the securitization of the refugee issue (Cooper et al, 2013). The issue of how to deal with refugee
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China’s Views of International Order

It is Chinese national interests of security, sovereignty and development that determine how it views the international order something that has been expressed in its official and unofficial documents and statements. Limited by poverty and political isolation during the Maoist era, China increased its interactions with the international system in the late 1970s following recognition by the United States and entrance into the United Nations. The legitimacy, predictability and stability of the international order is appreciated especially where Beijing can exert influence and resented where they view disproportionate benefits towards the United States. Support is seen in participation in international organizations such as the United Nations(UN) and the World Trade Organization(WTO) whereas criticism of the liberal norms and values that are a hallmark of the current international order are a sign of resentment. Western values that emphasize human rights, democracy and military alliances
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REVISITING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SANCTIONS AS A FOREIGN POLICY TOOL: THE CASE OF NORTH KOREA

Introduction Sanctions can be defined as restrictions placed on an entity with the aim of altering its behavior. Article 41 of the UN Charter mentions sanctions as one of the instruments the UN Security Council can use to maintain international peace and security although several governments as well as regional organizations have on their own initiative announced sanctions as a coercive tool. Interestingly, a majority of UN sanctions are preceded by unilateral or regional sanctions (Brzoska, 2015). Due to complaints that sanctions against a state tend to harm innocent civilians as witnessed in Iraq in the 1990s, there has been an emerging shift towards targeted sanctions on individuals, non-state entities, particular regions or sectors of the economies instead of the entire state ( Charron, Giumelli and Portela , 2015). However, Kanji (2016) is of the opinion that sanctions can never absolutely avoid affecting the general population hence the focus should be on minimizing that effe
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