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An analysis of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia (2007- 2016)

More than ten years after the deployment of the first African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops to Mogadishu, it is imperative that an in-depth analysis is conducted to examine whether the troops have reduced the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia and the region. This analysis is especially impo...

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Main Author: Ndegwa, Loise W
Other Authors: Akokpari, John
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Political Studies 2019
Subjects:
International Relations
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access_status_str Open Access
author Ndegwa, Loise W
author2 Akokpari, John
author_browse Akokpari, John
Ndegwa, Loise W
author_facet Akokpari, John
Ndegwa, Loise W
author_sort Ndegwa, Loise W
collection Thesis
description More than ten years after the deployment of the first African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops to Mogadishu, it is imperative that an in-depth analysis is conducted to examine whether the troops have reduced the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia and the region. This analysis is especially important since AMSIOM is the latest attempt to create a stable and strong central government in Somalia since the fall of Said Barre’s regime in 1991. The extremist group, al-Shabaab, has evolved to become the strongest opponent and obstacle to the creation of the Federal Government of Somalia. The main objective of this dissertation is to challenge the definition of success advocated by AMISOM and its allies regarding their progress in Somalia. This study also aims to analyse the effectiveness of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by AMISOM to reduce the threat of al-Shabaab. To analyse the effectiveness of the CT and COIN operations utilised between 2007 and 2016, this paper will contextualise the body-count approach using data collected from African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) reports and the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) by the University of Maryland. This study concludes that the weak mandate, which prevented the troops from conducting military offensives, and inadequate troop strength during the first phase of the mission (2007-July 2010), provided al-Shabaab with the right environment to evolve from a terrorist group into an insurgency by securing their support both their domestic and international support. Also, AMISOM’s failure to change their tactics and strategy to account for modifications adapted by al-Shabaab during the second and third phases (July 2010 – May 2012 and June 2012 – December 2016) has contributed to their limited success in Somalia. Although the scope of this study does not discuss all possible reasons for the limited success by AMISOM, it contributes to the larger discussion.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/29381
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:40:41.416Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2019
publishDateRange 2019
publishDateSort 2019
publisher Department of Political Studies
publisherStr Department of Political Studies
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/29381 An analysis of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia (2007- 2016) Ndegwa, Loise W Akokpari, John International Relations More than ten years after the deployment of the first African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops to Mogadishu, it is imperative that an in-depth analysis is conducted to examine whether the troops have reduced the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia and the region. This analysis is especially important since AMSIOM is the latest attempt to create a stable and strong central government in Somalia since the fall of Said Barre’s regime in 1991. The extremist group, al-Shabaab, has evolved to become the strongest opponent and obstacle to the creation of the Federal Government of Somalia. The main objective of this dissertation is to challenge the definition of success advocated by AMISOM and its allies regarding their progress in Somalia. This study also aims to analyse the effectiveness of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by AMISOM to reduce the threat of al-Shabaab. To analyse the effectiveness of the CT and COIN operations utilised between 2007 and 2016, this paper will contextualise the body-count approach using data collected from African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) reports and the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) by the University of Maryland. This study concludes that the weak mandate, which prevented the troops from conducting military offensives, and inadequate troop strength during the first phase of the mission (2007-July 2010), provided al-Shabaab with the right environment to evolve from a terrorist group into an insurgency by securing their support both their domestic and international support. Also, AMISOM’s failure to change their tactics and strategy to account for modifications adapted by al-Shabaab during the second and third phases (July 2010 – May 2012 and June 2012 – December 2016) has contributed to their limited success in Somalia. Although the scope of this study does not discuss all possible reasons for the limited success by AMISOM, it contributes to the larger discussion. 2019-02-06T13:01:32Z 2019-02-06T13:01:32Z 2018 2019-02-06T07:54:11Z Master Thesis Masters Master of Social Science http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29381 eng application/pdf Department of Political Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle International Relations
Ndegwa, Loise W
An analysis of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia (2007- 2016)
thesis_degree_str Master's
title An analysis of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia (2007- 2016)
title_full An analysis of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia (2007- 2016)
title_fullStr An analysis of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia (2007- 2016)
title_full_unstemmed An analysis of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia (2007- 2016)
title_short An analysis of the counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations employed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia (2007- 2016)
title_sort analysis of the counterterrorism ct and counterinsurgency coin operations employed by african union mission in somalia amisom to counter the threat of al shabaab in somalia 2007 2016
topic International Relations
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29381
work_keys_str_mv AT ndegwaloisew ananalysisofthecounterterrorismctandcounterinsurgencycoinoperationsemployedbyafricanunionmissioninsomaliaamisomtocounterthethreatofalshabaabinsomalia20072016
AT ndegwaloisew analysisofthecounterterrorismctandcounterinsurgencycoinoperationsemployedbyafricanunionmissioninsomaliaamisomtocounterthethreatofalshabaabinsomalia20072016

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