Counterterrorism as Foreign Policy: Linking American Security in the Horn of Africa to Democracy in Uganda

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S. has focused the majority of its foreign policy on the threat of terrorism’. In the Greater Horn of Africa, Somalia’s increasing radicalization and 20 years of chaos has placed the nation and its growing class of young fighters at the center of U.S. strategy in the region. American support to Somalia’s regional neighbors has therefore been tailored to combat the Somali threat more readily than internal issues within those countries. This study investigates the impact that American counterterrorism policies in the Greater Horn of Africa have on the internal democracy and human rights of those countries connected, but not central, to those policies. In the case of Somalia, the U.S. is currently unwilling to put its own troops in the battle theater. However its leaders are too concerned about connections between Al Qaeda and Somalia’s Al Shabaab to disengage completely. The U.S. is therefore dependent on African Union (AU) troops to protect American security interests in the region. Uganda provides the majority of the AU forces, making it a valuable partner in the “war on terror” in the Horn of Africa. Simultaneous to its growing military prowess, however, Uganda has experienced a backsliding in its human rights practices and internal democracy. This study establishes the link between U.S. security-centric foreign policy and the internal democracy of Uganda to serve as the basis for analyzing long-term American security interests in the region.