Foreign Policy and Kenya’s Foreign Relations, 1963–2017

Kenya’s foreign policy can be traced back to the country’s achievement of political independence in 1963. Acquiring the status of statehood as defined by the existence of recognized territorial boundaries, a population, a government, and the ability to interact with other actors in the international system meant that Kenya had attained a legal personality with both rights and obligations within the confines of international law (Shaw, 2008). Equally, as a newly established sovereign state, Kenya had to identify some principles that would guide her interaction with the external environment at the regional and global levels. Such principles make up what is otherwise referred to as the country’s foreign policy (Kaarbo et al., 2013; Alden & Aran, 2012). Although most principles of Kenya’s foreign policy have remained unaltered since independence, there have been progressive inconsistencies as the country responds to emerging internal and external realities.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. United States International University-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya Mercy Kathambi Kaburu & Korwa Gombe Adar
2. University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana Mercy Kathambi Kaburu & Korwa Gombe Adar

1. Mercy Kathambi Kaburu

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Editors and Affiliations

1. Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, USA Wanjala S. Nasong'o
2. Technical University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya Maurice N. Amutabi
3. Department of History, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA Toyin Falola

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Kaburu, M.K., Adar, K.G. (2023). Foreign Policy and Kenya’s Foreign Relations, 1963–2017. In: Nasong'o, W.S., Amutabi, M.N., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Kenya. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15854-4_27

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• DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15854-4_27
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