Kenya’s northern borderlands with Ethiopia and Somalia are mainly inhabited by pastoralist and agropastoralist groups. Geographically and politically, these counties have long been marginalised
peripheries of the Kenyan state, characterised by a weak or non-existent state presence, high
levels of poverty, lack of basic infrastructure and regular conflict.
What effects have past state formalisation processes had in the context of political and economic decentralisation? How does the formalization process vary between counties in Kenya’s northern borderland, given divergent infrastructural conditions and political contestations? And when it comes to the evolution of centre–periphery relations, what role has been played by political elites in relation to security and trade?
This report synthesizes insights from two case studies focused on Mandera and Moyale city in Kenya. Through analysis of what the report terms ‘restructuring the margins’—that is, decentralisation and the various accompanying attempts at undoing past exclusion and marginalisation— the report illustrates how regional, national, and local forces intersect to alter centre–periphery relations.