Guns and Conservation: Protecting Wildlife and Ensuring “Peace and Security” in Northern Kenya
Abstract
By mapping the circulation of firearms in northern Kenya, this paper aims to show the different ways armed conservation practices are more than a means to protect wildlife. Conservation is a means to achieve “peace and security,” too. Rangers fill the law enforcement vacuum that the government leaves open: locally, when protecting British Army training grounds; regionally, when addressing cattle raiding and road banditry; and even globally when patrolling activities are financed through the US Antiterrorism Assistance. At the same time, physical insecurity has increased because of the significant mobilization of firearms by civilians. Even though guns are but one element in conservation politics, following their circulation allows me to bring these different places and times into one analytical lens.
Domains
Political science
Origin : Explicit agreement for this submission
