TERRORIST RADICALIZATION, RECRUITMENT, AND PREVENTION IN KENYA: A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW
Research and interest on terrorism has increased several folds in the last few decades in many countries. Terrorism is known to have a significant effect on security and socio economic performance of many countries across the globe. This paper investigates the role of radicalization and recruitment of individuals into terror groups and terrorist activities. The paper uses theoretical analysis approach to examine secondary paper obtained from various secondary sources globally. The review uses qualitative methods comprised mainly of content analysis to identify mentions of relevant terms as the main method. It then proposes possible prevention measures in the Kenya and Somalia context. The analysis has established that terrorism is a global phenomenon and has intensified especially since the emergence of terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shabab, and Islamic State. This paper shows that Al Shabab and Al Qaeda members including Kenyans have participated in several terrorist attacks globally. The paper finds that terrorist radicalization and recruitment mostly targets the youth through indoctrination based on extreme ideology, brainwashing; and rejection of status quo, freedom of expression, and modern ideas. A key finding is that contrary to belief linking terrorism to religion and ethnicity, empirical evidence indicates that economic circumstances top the list for individuals joining terrorist groups. The study concludes that radicalization and recruitment has increased tremendously in the recent past two decades. The study recommends that Kenya and Somalia governments should intensify credible intelligence gathering and response, build trust among ordinary citizens, improve on counter intelligence, set up proper systems for de radicalizing and resettling youth disengaging from terrorist activities, and institute measures for establishing livelihood engagements for all youth. The study also suggests that governments should deal with radicalization at grassroots level by including its causes, effects, and prevention in social studies starting from primary school level.