ABSTRACT
Kenya continues to be a relatively stable and important country in Africa despite the challenges facing it as a result of the collapse of the state system in many neighboring countries and the difficulties of the democratization process. This chapter analyzes Kenya's foreign relations to explain achievements and failures in the following contexts: the domestic scenario; general policy orientation premised upon security; decision-making structures; relations with neighboring countries; regional organizations; continental organizations, especially the Organization of African Unity; and relations with major powers and organizations such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Commonwealth. The New York—based International Peace Academy's Conference on Internal Conflicts in Africa, held in March 1992 at Arusha, acknowledged Kenya's regional role in peacemaking and peacekeeping. The government elite recognized that the West was economically better placed to deal with these needs, hence the evolution of closer relations.
