Abstract:
Global terrorism is the single most serious security challenge to nations in contemporary international relations.
In November 2011, the Government of Kenya invoked article 51 of the United Nations Charter in the wake of Al-
Shabaab terror attacks in its territory, and for the first time since independence, engaged its military in combat in
a foreign territory- Somalia. The engagement of the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) in Somalia places Kenya
among the rank of nations that engage their militaries abroad in the global war against terrorism. This paper
examines the dynamics of Kenya’s foreign policy in the light of the intervention. In it, this writer argues that
Kenya’s military intervention represents the status quo foreign policy which emphasize on the protection of its
sovereignty as well as to safeguard regional stability. It however represents a shift in the way the country had
been conducting its foreign policy previously whenever its sovereignty and territorial integrity were under threat
