Peace and Security in Kenya
The USAID Approach
Forthcoming, Peace and Conflict StudiesGaleeb Kachra
In Peace and Security in Kenya: The USAID Approach, Galeeb Kachra examines the involvement of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Kenya following the postelection violence in late 2007 and early 2008 that left the country on the brink of civil war. Through USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, Kachra oversaw the Kenya Transition Initiative, which helped Kenyans establish a renewed judiciary, implement a new constitution, and grapple with longstanding land issues. As a country central to American foreign policy in Africa, Kachra argues, efforts to foster peace, reconciliation, and democratic political reform there had real benefits to US security objectives. In examining USAID’s role in a critical period in Kenyan history and drawing on his first-hand experiences, Kachra contends that “peace and security,” a phrase commonly used throughout American government documents and foreign policy strategies, is ill-defined and does not account for how overseas development interventions contribute to American national security objectives. Arguing against compartmentalization and narrow understandings of what constitutes peace and security work, Kachra instead urges specialists and policymakers to adopt a broader, more holistic approach when considering strategic objectives. An insightful examination by a career development expert, Peace and Security in Kenya offers a fresh approach at a significant time in global affairs. Galeeb Kachra spent a decade with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) including six years as the Deputy Country Representative in USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives in Kenya. He has previously published an anthology How I Changed the World in My Own Unique Ways and I Also Can’t Breathe: But This Jury Hangs. “Galeeb Kachra offers a compelling way forward for US peace and security programming. In this engaging blend of memoir, case studies, and textbook, Kachra shows how agile and catalytic political assistance can help to build a more robust judiciary and finalize a new constitution. The book takes on tough issues like land reform and countering violent extremism with a fresh and grounded perspective.”—Ambassador Rick Barton, former assistant secretary of state and author of Peace Works: America’s Unifying Role in a Turbulent World *** “Peace and Security in Kenya: The USAID Approach presents new, fascinating material as it is based on the experiences of an insider working for USAID. These experiences have generated new knowledge on the intricacies that USAID faces when doing its work, especially in the area of peace and security.”—Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, adjunct professor of political science at Pwani University, Kilifi, Kenya