Paper short abstract:

The understanding of the security complex associated to the Horn of Africa requires a cultural approach, as the perceptions of threat and insecurity are socially and culturally built, linking people across space and time.

Paper long abstract:

The research addresses the Security Complex in the Horn of Africa through the lens of the concept of "security culture", considered both regionally and from a domestic perspective; the four countries this paper will explore are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. The security complex characterizing this sub-region is not only the result of a sub-systemic competition and a power balancing phenomenon; it also stems from these countries' cultural background, which has shaped similar security cultures. Their perceptions of thereat and insecurity, as well as the building of responses to counter neighbouring challenges, are the result of the way history, ethnicity, and territoriality influenced relations between them. Thus, the paper underlines that solutions for the effective risk management in the Horn of Africa may be ensured through a "shared security strategy" that would answer the security dilemmas of these four actors.