Securitisation and spaces of terrorism in Kenya’s National Police Service counterterrorism discourse

Abstract

ABSTRACT The northeastern and coastal counties of Kenya are characterised by a high prevalence of terrorism and counterterrorism conducted by the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab terror group and the country’s National Police Service, respectively. The National Police Service (NPS) is Kenya’s principal counterterrorism state agency. This article examines how the National Police Service online counterterrorism discourse constructs these two regions as spaces of terrorism. The article adopts the securitisation theory and a critical discourse analysis perspective to analyse the National Police Service discourse as speech acts hence securitising moves, The speech acts discursively construct the two regions as spaces of terrorism hence threats to physical and human security. The construction enables to the National Police Service to legitimise and implement urgent repressive counterterrorism measures. The conditions that facilitate the discursive construction of threats and acceptance of the speech acts are the marginalisation of the inhabitants and terrorism in the regions. The conclusion offers ways of mitigating the adverse effects of the NPS counterterrorism discourse.