Executive Summary
The Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Security Symposium, organized by The HORN Institute in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) – Regional Programme Security Dialogue for East Africa, was held on December 8, 2025 at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The symposium brought together policymakers, regional experts, security practitioners, scholars, and representatives from regional bodies including IGAD, EAC, and AU, as well as diplomats, researchers, and civil society organizations. The meeting aimed to enhance understanding of the evolving security landscape in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region and to identify actionable strategies for strengthening regional stability.
Discussions were anchored on three core themes: state fragility, the evolving threat of terrorism and violent extremism, and the role and effectiveness of regional institutions in conflict prevention and resolution. Participants engaged through a series of moderated panels and plenary sessions that produced several key findings.
First, the region continues to face persistent state fragility, marked by weak governance structures, protracted conflicts, contested political transitions, and national cohesion challenges. The cases of Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Somalia exemplify how internal conflict, governance deficits, and socio-political fragmentation undermine state stability and fuel regional insecurity.
Second, the symposium emphasized that terrorism and violent extremism remain among the most significant threats to regional peace. Groups such as Al-Shabaab and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have adapted their operational strategies, broadened their recruitment networks, and exploited governance vacuums, economic marginalization, and community grievances. Participants noted that current regional Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) frameworks require strengthening and better alignment with emerging threat trajectories.
Third, the forum highlighted both the promise and the limitations of regional institutions notably IGAD, EAC, and the AU. While these bodies have played critical roles in mediation, peace operations, and diplomatic engagement, their impact is constrained by internal divisions, inadequate resources, overlapping mandates, and complex geopolitical pressures. Recent initiatives including IGAD’s engagements in Sudan and the EAC-led Nairobi Process on the DRC illustrate the importance of coordinated regional mechanisms but also expose gaps in implementation, coherence, and political will.
Fourth, participants emphasized that the region’s security challenges are increasingly shaped by geopolitical competition and external interventions. The involvement of global and Gulf actors continues to influence political dynamics, economic alignments, and conflict trajectories, necessitating more coherent regional strategies to manage external interests.
The symposium generated several key recommendations. First, regional governments should prioritize strengthening state institutions, accelerating political transitions, and fostering inclusive national dialogues to address drivers of internal instability. Second, security actors and policymakers should enhance regional cooperation on counterterrorism, including intelligence sharing, joint operations, community-centered prevention frameworks, and resilience-building at the local level. Third, IGAD, EAC, and the AU should be supported to improve their conflict-management capacities, harmonize mandates, and develop unified approaches to emerging crises. Fourth, regional actors should establish mechanisms to better coordinate engagement with external powers to reduce fragmentation and ensure alignment with regional priorities.
