Challenges of securing Maritime borders for sustainable Peace in Somalia

Abstract

Since 2005, the vital waterway in the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden has remained the globe’s most treacherous piracy hotspot, instigating countries that have their commercial and safety interests predominantly getting weakened by the escalating piracy in the area to deploy their security details to assist in enhancing maritime security. Various investigations on the impact of piracy on economies of states have been done, however, an in depth study on the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa deserves more investigation to understand how this has affected the ability of Somalia to secure its maritime borders. The security scenario posed continue to experience myriad challenges of actors, interests, and strategies which provides an academic gap worth probing while at the same time a policy gap of what best to do in ameliorating this condition for sustainable peace. The on goings singly and collectively have the capacity of affecting the peace in Somalia. The study sought to; assess challenges of securing maritime borders for sustainable peace in Somalia, examine socio-eco- political challenges facing Somalia state, analyze influence of states and non-state actors in the Somalia’s maritime border security, and establish successes attained in sustainable peace and security of Somalia. The study was guided by two theories namely; the collective security theory and cognitive resources theory. The researcher adopted a descriptive research design and utilized a purposive sampling technique to attain a sample size of 100 respondents from a target populace of 200 respondents. The researcher used questionnaire to gather primary data from the respondents. Data analysis employed included; thematic, content analysis and pseudo-statistical analysis for descriptive frequencies used to present the findings from secondary and primary data which were in tables, pie charts, and figures. The findings indicated that pirate’s attacks significantly are an impediment to the success of Somalia’s maritime security and quest to enhance sustainable peace in the country. It was found that the actions of other states especially through Official Development Assistance (ODA) plays a critical role in supporting Somali’s determination to secure its borders and this should continue. Additionally, regional and international organizations were found to play crucial role in enhancing maritime security in the coastline of Somalia through facilitation of negotiations in the country. Finally, the research found out that there are significant challenges in capacity building in regard to efforts of securing maritime borders to enhance sustainable peace in the country. From the foregoing, the research recommends a more elaborate collaboration between Somali and other stakeholders, states and non-state in making the porous maritime borders secure