Draft Dissertation Title: Inequality, Violence and Islam in the Somali areas of Kenya

This study focuses on the outcomes and root causes of inequality and violence in a pastoralist community in Kenya. In the marginalized and marginal North Eastern Province (NEP) and Eastleigh area of Nairobi, ethnic Somalis live in conditions of chronic inequality and low-intensity violence. Malnutrition and illiteracy rates are among the worst in the region, access to healthcare and education is minimal, crime and conflict are rampant, and social alienation is rising. As Muslims, Somalis are in the religious minority in Kenya. As pastoralists, they are portrayed as 'timelessly' tribal and violent. As ethnic Somalis, they are associated with the war in Somalia and inherently to fundamentalism, terrorism and chaos. In the 1st component of my research I investigate the articulation of political, economic and social processes, which underline the evolution of repressive and exclusionary state politicies in Somali areas of Kenya, and produce a normalized way to view Somalis as violent. I use the lens of historical anthropology to make clearer the systematic ways in which some people, marginalized and poor, are prevented from meeting their basic needs. The 2nd component of the research focuses on lived outcomes of such structural and political violence by examining the prevalence of malnutrition, illness and hunger rampant in the region as well as the normalized and small affronts in various administrative and bureaucratic settings. The 3rd component explores the place of ethnic and religious identity in affirming or responsing to violence.

Conflict, Political and Structural Violence

Identity Politics and Political Islam

Geopolitics/economy in sub-Saharan Africa in general / Greater Horn of Africa in particular

Pastoralism and Household Livelihood Security