The effects of climate change on the possible increase in conflict due to competition over scarce resources is widely debated. Prolonged droughts due to climate change are expected in the arid and semiarid lands of Africa. Like other regions in the Horn of Africa, northern Kenya was adversely affected by severe drought from 2020 to 2022. Satellite data confirm rainfall deficits reflected in vegetation, drought indicators, and soil moisture distributions for the study area of Isiolo, a representative arid and semiarid region in Kenya. Starting before the drought, we sampled 545 households for a panel survey in a stratification by ecological, livelihood, and ethnic groups. Four waves of the panel from February 2020 to May 2022 showed growing food insecurity due to declining water supplies. Because of the timing of the survey waves, our results document the effects of severe environmental pressures on food security, attitudes about local institutions, and beliefs about the use of violence. Support for the use of violence to redress household shortages was not significantly related to perceptions of drought severity and frequency. We find, however, that the role of local institutions is crucial in the drought-violence nexus as trust in the effectiveness of traditional elders, especially in pastoralist communities, leads to greater support for violence. We complement the survey data with detailed local interviews that supported the findings about the importance of the effectiveness of traditional institutions that are challenged by worsening environmental conditions.